Stephanie "Stevie" Dawson Endowed Scholarship Fund

This merit and need-based scholarship is awarded to graduate students demonstrating outstanding talent and potential who are enrolled at UNCSA, School of Design and Production.

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Established by Dr. Leslie Banner, Mr. John W. Dawson, Jr. and Ms. Marie Flowe-Dawson, and Mr. Kenneth D. White in memory of Stephanie “Stevie” Louise Dawson in 2021.

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Stephanie Louise Dawson of Durham, NC and Baton Rouge, LA, a professor, technical director, and production manager in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Tulane University. Ms. Dawson’s career in theater production and teaching was distinguished by her technical and collaborative skill as well as her gift for mentoring and inspiring others. Her talents were expressions of both professional dedication and personal courage that defined a remarkable life.

Known among her colleagues as “Stevie” Dawson, she brought to her work an unusual combination of engineering skills and an understanding of narrative drama. She was valued highly by her peers for her ability to understand and honor the artistic visions of a play’s director and designers while translating those visions through the strictures of time, money, space, and labor, into palpable art. With her scene shop crews, frequently consisting of young people starting theater careers, she demonstrated her ability to combine demands for excellence with a protective attitude and willingness to mentor that won their loyalty and often sent them another step ahead in their lives.

Stevie had worked extensively as a theater professional in the Southeastern United States before joining the Tulane faculty in New Orleans as professor of the practice, technical director, and production manager. Her other notable teaching positions included adjunct appointments at Louisiana State University and Old Dominion University and part-time instruction at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Her professional experience included the Alliance Theater Company, the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, and the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta; the Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk; the Arkansas Repertory Theater in Little Rock; the East Carolina Summer Theatre in Greenville, NC; the Birmingham Summerfest in Alabama; the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; and the Utah Shakespearean Festival.

She graduated magna cum laude from East Carolina University in 1992, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts and the Outstanding Senior Award from the Department of Theatre Arts, with a concentration in Design and Production. She was awarded the Master of Fine Arts in Technical Direction from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2004 with a thesis that engineered affordable and accessible automation for small and mid-sized theaters.

Stevie also donated her skills to community and educational causes, including work she provided as a public service for the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, and Habitat for Humanity in Greenville and Baton Rouge.

Stephanie Dawson was born in High Point, North Carolina. She grew up in Durham, where she developed her lifelong interests in the arts and literature. Known for her determined spirit, positive outlook, and inquisitive mind, Stephanie was a voracious reader who also developed interests in astronomy, music, and the painting of the Impressionists. She enjoyed hiking, skiing, and motorcycle riding. Many of her friends have fond memories of horseback riding with Stephanie at Crossroads Farm in Bahama, where she kept and cared for her horse “Texas” for most of her childhood and teenage years. Her lifelong involvement in the theater began when she was a student at Carrington Junior High School and Northern Durham High School, where she acted in school plays and developed an interest in technical production.

Stephanie met her ideal match, Ken White, a theatrical lighting designer, while working together at the Birmingham Summerfest in 1990. They were married on May 1, 1993, and supported each other’s professional aspirations throughout their marriage and many separations as professional work for him and professional work and further education for her, frequently kept them apart. They were never however separated in their hearts and were known as a devoted couple among their friends and colleagues.

She was considered an empathetic and supportive colleague and friend whose high ethical standards informed her interactions and had a lasting influence on many people. As early as her undergraduate work as a teaching assistant she began mentoring undergraduates, the start of a legacy of support and guidance for many theater students and professionals. In spite of the rigorous demands and long hours of technical theater production work, she was consistently personable and accessible to those around her. Somehow she made time for friends, family members and associates, leaving a lasting impact through her generosity and the inspiring example she set of a person who could be successful in her profession while remaining an authentic friend.

On top of these accomplishments, Stephanie set an extraordinary example in her fight with cystic fibrosis. When she was born, less than half of the children with cystic fibrosis lived to adulthood. Stephanie beat the odds, graduating from college in 5 years while enduring more than a dozen hospitalizations, grappling with illness while fulfilling numerous summer stock and professional seasons, and eventually receiving a double lung transplant in the year 2000 while completing her Master of Fine Arts degree. At the end of 12 years of thriving post-transplant, Stephanie was hospitalized in May 2011 and fought a 10-month battle with complications stemming from her transplant.

Whether fighting against cystic fibrosis or managing the challenges of living post-transplant, she in effect lived three lives in one, with a demanding work schedule, devotion to friends and loved ones, and the multitude of daily tasks required to maintain her health. Stephanie dealt with her medical challenges on her own terms. As a child, her determination, even defiance, carried her to adulthood. As an adult, she became a skilled advocate for her own health. Her physicians were her consultants, but she was the final authority on what was best for her. Her resilience may have been forged in the battles for her health, but she did not allow disease to define her.