Support Disability Resources and Services

Charlotte W. Newcombe Endowment Scholarships for all students with a disability

Since 1981, the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation has awarded Temple University almost $1.1 million. The funds have been used to provide direct scholarships to students with a disability, as well as build an endowment that provides long-standing support to Temple students.

For every dollar that is contributed to this endowment, the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation has committed to matching this gift, thus $100 becomes $200, $1,000 becomes $2,000 and $10,000 becomes $20,000. Your gift to this endowment will ensure its constant growth and the continued support of students with a disability at Temple.

Explore our website to learn more about our students and our endowed scholarship funds, or follow this link to make a donation online.

Charlotte W. Newcombe

March 28, 1890 - July 17, 1979

Charlotte Wilson Newcombe was born on March 28, 1890 in Philadelphia.

Although her older sister and younger brother were college graduates, Charlotte never attended college. Her vision was impaired from childhood and she could not read for long enough periods to make serious study possible.

Her father, Dr. Matthew James Wilson, was a physician and a public-spirited citizen who served several terms on Philadelphia's Board of Education. Before his death in 1931, Dr. Wilson secured a firm promise from his daughter that she would never sell any of the Smith Kline stock she would inherit. Her adherence to that promise over the next 48 years was rewarded by the remarkable growth of the drug company and of her fortune late in her life.

Charlotte Wilson was always committed to helping those around her from an early age. During World War I, she sold war bonds in her community and was active in the Red Cross, teaching women to knit socks, scarves and warm hats for soldiers. Mrs. Newcombe greatly valued higher education; during her lifetime she sent the children of several friends to college, taking a vigorous interest in their progress. She married Fred Newcombe in 1952 and they lived in Germantown, Philadelphia.

In her will, she established the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation to continue her scholarship gifts. Her legacy continues under the stewardship of the Foundation's trustees. One of the founding trustees of The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation was Millard E. Gladfelter, president of Temple University from 1959 to 1967.