Citing her own experience in government administration, Betsy Ross Howe Stafford created this scholarship in 2003 to highlight the importance of professional education in public administration.

Stafford earned an undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill and began her career in public service working on housing issues in Nebraska. She returned to North Carolina to serve as the federal area director for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in North Carolina and Louisiana. She retired from federal service in 1983.

All UNC-CH MPA admitted and current students are eligible and considered for this scholarship without additional application; preference is given to those students with an interest in local government administration.