Cindy Vautrin, left, with her daughter, Shannon Vautrin Browne at the Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation.
Vautrin Browne Scholarship Endowed Fund
Cindy Vautrin and her daughter, Shannon Vautrin Browne, are an inspiring duo whose humanitarian efforts span generations.
Raised in Shepherd, Cindy is a longtime community leader in Mt. Pleasant and Shepherd. She pairs professional rigor with hands-on service. She is an alumna of the Rollie Denison Leadership Institute and a former chair of the City of Mt. Pleasant Building Authority. At CMU, she held several roles - including business analyst in Accounting Services, manager of Accounts Receivable, and project manager for the university’s enterprise systems implementation - and she taught in the College of Business. She then built a global career in enterprise software before retiring. Through the Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation, she has served on the Scholarship Committee and is recognized among the Foundation’s Distinguished Donors.
Cindy’s philanthropy is rooted in a family legacy of service as a relative of humanitarian Minnie Vautrin - often called the “Goddess of Nanking.” Minnie was an American educator at Nanjing’s Ginling College who stayed through the city’s fall in December 1937. She turned the campus into a refuge within the International Safety Zone, sheltering up to 10,000 women and children, organizing food and sanitation, and personally confronting soldiers to stop assaults and abductions. Her detailed diary documented the atrocities and left a central eyewitness record of the tragedy. Cindy has helped preserve that history by donating Minnie’s diaries and artifacts to public collections and by representing her family at commemorations abroad.
Cindy shows a recent award she accepted on behalf of relative Minnie Vautrin, known as “Goddess of Nanking.”
The beautiful honor bestowed upon Minnie decades after her service.
Shannon Vautrin Browne combines a career in administration and governance at CMU’s College of Medicine with a deep commitment to service in Mt. Pleasant. A CMU alumna and longtime collaborator, she focuses on building effective systems and partnerships that help people and organizations do their best work.
Through the Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation - particularly through the Women’s Initiative - Shannon supports programs that open doors for women and girls and strengthen the overall well-being of Isabella County. This work channels her pragmatic, community-first values into flexible resources for local nonprofits, advancing efforts in health, education, and essential needs.
Together, Cindy and Shannon established this scholarship fund to support students from single-parent households across Isabella County. Their fund reflects shared values - education, stewardship, and care for others - and provides support for educational efforts that expand opportunity.
By contributing, donors partner with Cindy and Shannon to strengthen Isabella County - today and for generations to come. It’s one more way the Vautrin family legacy lives on.
Vautrin Browne Scholarship Endowed Fund Eligibility
Applicants must:
Be an Isabella County graduating senior, an Isabella County high school graduate, or an Isabella County resident with a GED.
Have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity.
Document at least 100 hours of work and/or volunteer service.
Plan to enroll at an accredited college, university, or trade school.
Selection Preferences
Preference may be given to students who:
Come from a single-parent household.
Enroll in 9 or more credits per semester.
Show a strong work ethic (as reflected in the written response).
Have meaningful community involvement and service.
Award & Renewal
The fund intends to award at least one multi-year scholarship.
To continue receiving the award for up to four years:
College or university students must successfully complete 9 or more credits each term with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Trade-school students must show successful course completion within their program.