Meg Tully Scholarship Established to Honor Late Communications Professor

Dr. Margaret “Meg” Tully’s legacy to continue after battle with leukemia 

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences recently announced the Meg Tully Scholarship, a scholarship honoring late communications professor Dr. Margaret “Meg” Tully who passed away last October at 35 years old following her battle with leukemia. 

The scholarship will be available to communications students at Belmont, providing them with additional educational opportunities and increasing accessibility to the subjects Tully was passionate about. 

“Meg loved her students and loved teaching,” said her sister and one of the primary founders of the scholarship, Kate Ellsworth. “While she was surrounded by machines in the hospital, focusing on her students and papers was one of the only things that gave her light. The night before she turned critical and while in the ICU, a nurse told me she would always see Meg talking about her students and grading papers. She was so passionate education and students.” 

Long before Tully became a professor at Belmont in 2022, the University played a pivotal role in the lives of both sisters. Their mother, Dr. Sue Trout, has been a professor of English at Belmont since 1990. 

“We grew up in the old Wheeler building,” said Ellsworth. “We grew up in those halls and in the writing center at Belmont, back when campus was so much smaller than it is today. It was always Meg’s dream to come back and teach there, which she did.” 

With Belmont and education as a whole serving as cornerstones of Tully’s life, her family and the University worked together to establish the Meg Tully Scholarship in her honor. 

"Meg Tully was deeply devoted to her students, and the Meg Tully Scholarship stands as a fitting tribute to her legacy," said CLASS Dean Dr. Bryce Sullivan. "She was beloved by her students, who often spoke of her kindness, engaging teaching style, and sense of humor. Beyond her warmth in the classroom, she was a committed scholar who inspired others to pursue careers in communication studies." 

In addition to the scholarship, a blood drive will be held on campus in memory of Tully October 3 and 4, as well as a public memorial service and a silent auction to raise additional scholarship funds. More details regarding the memorial service, blood drives and silent auction will become available in the following months. 

“We will continue these fundraising efforts forever because we want to make sure Meg’s name, legacy and research can continue longer than she did,” concluded Ellsworth. 

Silent auction donation inquiries can be sent here. 

Donations can be made to the Meg Tully Scholarship fund directly here.