A. Ray Olpin University Union

Purchase a fine art or canvas print of the artwork, "Saved By U" by Ran Stewart.

All proceeds support The Whit Hollis Scholarship for Champions of the LGBTQ+ Community!

Who is Whit Hollis?

At the end of 2021, Whit Hollis retired from the University of Utah Student Union, ending a 43-year career in the Union profession. Over his illustrious career in higher education, Whit has impacted thousands of students. In particular, he has mentored and supported hundreds of students who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community, often during times when students may be struggling the most to find their place. Whit has meant the world to so many who have benefitted from his unselfish willingness to help and guide. To celebrate his legacy and to lend support to a community that he holds so dear, we are excited to announce a scholarship in his name: The Whit Hollis Scholarship for Champions of the LGBTQ+ Community.

The Whit Hollis Scholarship will provide financial assistance to outstanding undergraduate students enrolled or planning to enroll at the University of Utah who advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and who demonstrate a need for funds to meet their necessary college expenses. Our long-term goal is to endow this scholarship and award a student each year in perpetuity. The goal of this fundraiser is $3,000 which will fund one scholarship for one student.

Who is Ran Stewart?

Ran Stewart is a fine art painter who works primarily from his studio in Salt Lake City Utah. His journey as an artist began at the age of nine when he took a small paint by numbers set his parents had gotten for him, painted over the pattern and made his own painting. His work is an exploration of the movement of time and space within a two-dimensional space. The work takes on a moodiness and sense of movement due to the distinct brush work and limited pallet. His current work is a defocused impressionist look at urban life. “I love to capture a moment in time, be it passengerswaiting for a train, people on crowded street, or a lone figure on a rainy night,” says Stewart. “There is simplicity in a moment, but the complexity of the story it tells is what fascinates me.”