Hats Adams Endowed Scholarship

The Hats Adams Endowed Scholarship was established in 2016 by friends and admirers of Reginald “Hats” Adams, who served Rush University Medical Center for nearly five decades, from 1968 until his passing in 2015. Deeply connected to civic and religious leaders on Chicago’s West Side, Mr. Adams was the director of the Department of Community Affairs at Rush for most of his illustrious career.

During his earliest days at Rush, Mr. Adams became known for his role in defusing tense situations, such as the riots that ensued after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. As demonstrators demanding change were at the edge of violence, Mr. Adams ? then working in the psychiatric unit ? helped maintain the peace on the Rush campus.

In 1990, Mr. Adams was instrumental in developing the Science and Math Excellence Network, or SAME, in response to the low science, math and reading test scores in Chicago schools in the area surrounding Rush. The framework and legacy of the SAME network continues in Rush’s many mentoring and educational programs in the community. The endowed scholarship in Mr. Adams’ honor is intended to support students in any of the four colleges of Rush University, with preference given to students who benefitted from the community-based education programs he helped establish.