The Institute of Politics announced Thursday the creation and sponsorship of the John C. Culver Institute of Politics Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to fund the tuition and mandatory fees for two-year graduate study at the Harvard Kennedy School. The first Culver Scholars will enroll at the Kennedy School for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Those awarded the scholarship—named in honor of John C. Culver ’54, IOP’s Senior Advisory Committee chair emeritus—must be graduates of either Harvard College or one of the IOP’s 24 consortium colleges. All applicants must also show their involvement with the IOP or, if they did not attend Harvard, their respective consortium college’s political engagement efforts.

“It is fitting that this scholarship at [the] Harvard Kennedy School bears the name of Senator John Culver, whose intelligence, integrity, and outstanding service to our nation are an inspiration,” Caroline B. Kennedy ’80 said in a press release.

Kennedy, who championed the establishment of the scholarship, is the IOP Senior Advisory Committee chair, a position Culver held for 14 years.

“We hope that Culver Scholars will be motivated by his extraordinary example in the years to come,” she added.

Prior to his involvement at the IOP, Culver pursued distinguished political and military careers. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps before being elected congressman for Iowa’s second congressional district in 1964, a seat he held for five terms. In 1974, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and served until 1980.

Besides his work with the Senior Advisory Committee, Culver also served as the interim director of the IOP from 2010 to 2011 before current director C. M. Tray Grayson ’94 was appointed in 2011.

“John Culver’s dedication to the Institute of Politics has helped us achieve excellence and become a model for similar institutions nationwide,” Grayson said of his predecessor in a press release. “We are very proud to offer this scholarship in his name.”

The scholarship named in his honor will be awarded to students who are not only involved in civic engagement efforts, but also display academic excellence, commitment to public service, and leadership experience.

Preference in selecting Culver Scholars will be given to applicants who were involved with their respective college’s National Campaign for Political and Civic Engagement affiliate organization. Launched by the IOP in 2003, the National Campaign is active at each of the 24 consortium colleges from which applicants must have graduated.

—Staff writer Steven R. Watros can be reached at watros@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @SteveWatros.