In 2006, Ellen Lott Smith established a generous endowment fund which provides an annual scholarship to a student majoring in English or English Education.

The scholarship recipient will be chosen by means of an essay competition to be administered by the USC Aiken Department of English each Fall; the annual deadline for essay submissions is November 1.

In addition to the requisite major, the students must have completed at least twelve hours at USC Aiken.  Second-semester freshmen and transfers, sophomores and juniors are eligible; since the scholarship is awarded in the year following the essay submission, current seniors are not eligible.