Belmont Abbey College Launches Fr. Arthur Pendleton Scholarship Program in the Natural Sciences Belmont, N.C. (October 28th, 2026) – Belmont Abbey College has established the Fr. Arthur Pendleton Scholarship, a new premier academic scholarship for students pursuing the natural sciences. The scholarship honors the late Fr. Arthur Pendleton, a beloved monk of Belmont Abbey who taught chemistry at the college for decades. The program honors the college’s monastic and academic tradition while promoting rigorous undergraduate research that is anchored in truth, faith, and academic excellence.  The Pendleton Scholarship program is designed for students passionate about the natural sciences who plan to major in biology or biochemistry and have at least a 3.25 unweighted GPA. Each Pendleton scholar will receive $9,000 per year, renewable for up to four years.  Beyond the award, Pendleton scholars join a community built around rigorous research and the integration of faith and reason. Each semester, students will meet with faculty directors for a one-hour seminar on faith and scientific discovery, built around shared readings and conversation. Every scholar will pursue an original research project under the mentorship of a science faculty member. The cohort also gathers for departmental events such as a Gold Mass, which honors those serving in the sciences, and an undergraduate research symposium. In their upper-class years, scholars will serve as laboratory teaching assistants and mentors to younger students. Each scholar will finish the program by writing and presenting a senior thesis based on their own research.  “Fr. Arthur showed generations of Abbey students that studying the natural world is a way of encountering the order and beauty of God’s creation,” said Dr. Brad Frazier, Provost of Belmont Abbey College. “The Pendleton Scholarship program carries that legacy forward. Our students will conduct real research alongside faculty mentors and think seriously about how faith...