GW established a public service scholarship and special memorial in honor of social activist Dr. Dorothy Height Thursday.

Height, who died last year, was a champion for education and a leader in the civil rights movement, as well as the former president of the National Council for Negro Women.

The $10,000 scholarship will be awarded each year to a member of the incoming freshman class who demonstrates financial need and who has shown a commitment to public service, civil rights and academic excellence.

University President Steven Knapp dedicated the memorial, a plaque and bench located behind the Graduate School of Education and Human Development building.

“Dr. Height’s dedication to justice and service was a model for us all,” Knapp said. “We are honored to celebrate her legacy with this campus memorial and the scholarship bearing her name.”

The memorial will be added to The Spirit of Black Foggy Bottom trail that commemorates Foggy Bottom’s African-American history.

Bernard Demczuk, assistant vice president of D.C. relations, said Height was a “visionary.”

“She stood at the crossroads of American history with the vision of a society of justice, equality and scholarship.”