CHARLOTTE — Students in seven Catholic schools across the Diocese of Charlotte will receive a total of $76,445 in financial aid from the C. Philip Johnston-Aline W. Kaneer Scholarship Fund, paying all of their tuition for the 2024-’25 academic year.
The fund was created by C. Philip Johnston with $4 million from his estate at his death in 2017.
Johnston was born in Charlotte but lived all over the country before retiring in the Southeast. He attended Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and earned a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1958. He worked in the entertainment industry, but when acting work became scarce, he took a “temporary job” working for Conrad Hilton in a new credit card venture called Carte Blanche. He rose to success in the emerging industry and, after reaching the position of senior vice president at a large regional bank in St. Louis, he left to lead a nonprofit organization specializing in consumer credit counseling.
Students from 19 Catholic schools in the diocese are eligible for scholarship awards from the fund.
The Johnston Scholarship follows students throughout their time in schools in the diocese.
The schools that students will attend this year are: Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point; Our Lady of the Assumption School in Charlotte; Our Lady of Mercy and St. Leo schools in
Winston-Salem; Sacred Heart School in Salisbury; St. Mark School in Huntersville; and Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville.
The scholarship awarded to each student ranges from $6,000 to $15,350 depending on the tuition cost and need. Each student can continue receiving assistance through the scholarship fund every year for the length of their academic career as long as they remain eligible.
“I first met with Mr. Johnston back in 1989. He made his decision to put this (scholarship) gift in his estate back then,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “He never wavered from that commitment, even though he moved away from the diocese in his later years.”
Kelley noted, “More people like Philip Johnston are recognizing a range of needs in the Church here in western North Carolina – including our Catholic schools, parishes, seminarian education, Catholic Charities and St. Joseph College Seminary – and remembering these ministries in their wills and estates.”
Since 1986, diocesan entities, including parishes, schools and ministries have received 51 gifts of $1 million or more from individuals like Johnston. They typically help fund capital projects or endowments.
— Courtney McLaughlin