Published on June 9, 2026 by Neal Embry  
ORLKids2026
Our Risen Lord recipients talk together in Hodges Chapel.

As a result of a long-term commitment and additional giving by the anonymous donor behind the Our Risen Lord full-tuition scholarships, Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School plans to award more scholarships in the years ahead.

In 2025, Beeson announced the inaugural scholarships, awarded to 22 top Master of Divinity (MDiv) students beginning their studies in the 2025-26 academic year. Those scholarships were made available thanks to a generous, anonymous donor, who agreed to fund them in perpetuity, while raising the number of scholarships given to each cohort to 33, beginning in the fall 2030 semester. By that time, Beeson projects to have grown by 99 students because of the scholarships, with an estimated student population expanding to 229.

“These are the kinds of donors we so desperately need in our seminaries today,” said Dean Douglas A. Sweeney. “They love the Lord and His church. They understand the importance of a well-trained ministry and give at a level sure to make a major difference for decades to come.”

The donors are “transforming Beeson, taking us closer than ever before” to being able to offer full-tuition scholarships to all students who need them, Sweeney said.

The merit-based scholarships are awarded to top MDiv applicants.

“This is an absolute gamechanger for Beeson, and one that we are thankful to the Lord for providing,” said Beeson development officer Elliott Dansby. “This updated agreement and growth of the support speak to the Lord also working to bring growth to this distinct, faithful community and honors the great work by admission staff and our dedicated faculty who minister to and challenge these ministers-in-training in the classroom and beyond.

“Without the Lord leading and providing this special culture of life-on-life learning and ministry, I don’t think our beloved donor would have confidence supporting in such a transformative manner,” Dansby said.

The Our Risen Lord scholarships will bear fruit in the near future as Beeson students become Beeson graduates who impact the world for Christ and His Kingdom.

“There will be hundreds of congregations in the very near future, and thousands eventually, who will be blessed by pastors who were able to go to Beeson because of these gifts,” Sweeney said. “More people will come to appreciate the Beeson difference, for it will help them grow further into maturity in Christ.”

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.