As the new school year begins, we welcome new and continuing students and wish you great success this year.  If you received a Dougherty award last year but have not completed your Dougherty application for this year please do so immediately.  Returning Dougherty recipients are given priority over new students but you must submit your paperwork by your schools' deadline. 

In 1938, M.J. and Bess moved from Mesa to Phoenix.   From 1939 until 1956, M.J. practiced law as the senior partner in the firm of Dougherty, Chandler & Connor.  The firm specialized in corporate law and handled civil cases.  Among his more notable cases was that of Irwin vs. Webb in which the state's power to levy taxes against homesteaders was clarified and that of U.S. vs. Mikel, involving the jurisdiction of U.S. court martial procedures over civilians. 

A strong supporter of efforts to obtain cheap electric power, M.J. was associated with various commissions created for that purpose, among them was the AZ Power Authority, of which he was chairman from 1944-50.  This was a state agency established to obtain power from the Hoover Dam.  M.J. wrote the law under which the agency operated.  He was also chairman of the Colorado River Power Commission from 1932-50, president of the Roosevelt Water Conservation District from 1930-37, and a member of the Interstate Water Commission. 

Michael J. Gratton Dougherty

 

M.J. was a member of the American, Arizona State, and Maricopa County Bar Associations.  He was also active in the National Anthropology and Archaeology Society, the Military Order of the World War, and the American Legion. 

 

Over the years, M.J. and Bess devoted much of their leisure time to their 1,550 acre farm in Maricopa County and their 7,000 acre farm in Pinal County.  They raised cattle, hay, grain and cotton.  M.J. was credited with having established the first cotton gin in the state with several other area farmers. 

 

Though childless, the Doughertys had a keen interest in education and in helping students.  In 1954, M.J. and Bess created the Dougherty Foundation, a non-profit educational trust established for the benefit of needy students desiring education beyond the high school level.  When the Foundation was established, a comprehensive federal aid program for students enrolled in higher education had not been adopted and college bound high school students and their parents, who were considered needy usually did not, or could not, borrow money for their "unmet" needs.  "Working our way through college" had been the acceptable way for depression era youth to earn a degree.  The G.I. Bill, passed to assist post World War II veterans who had postponed college to serve in the armed forces, was the forerunner of the first Higher Education Act, passed by Congress in 1965, which established federal grants and student loans for "needy" students. 

 

M.J. passed away on March 20, 1957 one day after his seventy seventh birthday.  The desire for a new life in a new territory led to a very prosperous life for M.J. and Bess.  They shared their gifts by assisting to make their adopted state a better place in many ways including helping to ensure abundant water and electrical power for the state and by  being pioneers in the field of educational assistance for the youth of Arizona.  Their entire estate was bequeathed to the Foundation which has assisted thousands of students over the past fifty seven years. 

 

 

The Fourteenth Annual Scholarship Luncheon was held at Estrella Mountain Community College in May.  Cathy Eden represented the Dougherty Foundation in congratulating the twenty EMCC students who received Dougherty scholarships during the 2010-2011 academic year. 

Estella Goodman, Dougherty recipient with Cathy Eden

The Dougherty Foundation began making awards to students at EMCC in 1999 and since that date, has assisted 210 students with $157,000 in scholarship funds.   

Jeffrey Spencer, Dougherty recipient with Cathy Eden

All Dougherty recipients are encouraged to apply for Dougherty funds when they transfer from a community college to either another Maricopa Community College or to one of the universities here in Arizona.  To see if your new school is in the Dougherty program, check the list of our participating schools listed on the left.  Grad students may apply for Dougherty Loans at participating schools.

Q:  I've changed my major and have to attend community college for two more years.  Can I get more Dougherty scholarship funds?

A:  Scholarships at the community college level are limited to a total of $2,000.  If you've reached that amount you are no longer eligible for scholarship funds.  If you transfer to a university, you may apply for the Dougherty Loan & Scholarship package.

Q:  I'm now at a participating university but I don't want to take out any loans, may I apply only for Dougherty scholarship funds?

A:  No, the loans are mandatory at the university level.  The foundation awards and collects student loans so that more students can be assisted in obtaining their education. 

Q:  I've transferred to another school, will my original school notify the Dougherty Foundation of this change and award my scholarship?

A:  No, it is your responsibility to notify the foundation.  Schools do not notify us of any change in your status, graduation, etc. 

You must complete a new application at your new school.

Q:  I've moved, whom do I tell?

A:  If you're still in school, notify the Dougherty Foundation via email or telephone (602) 264-7478.  If you've left school and are repaying your loan contact FAME at (800) 327-5772  x 310.

Be sure to keep receiving this newsletter from the Dougherty Foundation by giving us your personal email address instead of the school issued address you may have listed on your Dougherty application.  We don't share your information with anyone.  Click here to update your email address:

                          doughertyfnd1@qwestoffice.net