Margaret A. Dankworth Management Scholarship

The 2025 scholarship application is closed. Scholarship applications for 2026 will open in June 2025.

Full submission instructions are included in the application. Applicants must be an AZA individual member and employed by an AZA-accredited or certified related facility. Individual members working at AZA facilities in any country are welcome to apply.

Applicants may only submit one (1) AZA scholarship application per year. An individual cannot be awarded the same scholarship more than once. An individual is not eligible to receive an AZA scholarship more frequently than every three years. Those who received any AZA scholarship within the past three years will not be considered for this award. This scholarship is merit-based. Applications are evaluated and recipients are chosen by the AZA Professional Development Committee. 

Within four (4) months of attending the course, the Margaret A. Dankworth Scholarship recipient will submit an article or agree to an interview that will be published in the AZA CONNECT magazine. The article should be 500-700 words and relate to the recipient's leadership experience and journey. Applicants may only submit one scholarship application per year.

Application Materials 

• Completed Scholarship Application Form
• Two (2) Recommendations (Instructions are found in the application)
• Resume

Please note: If you do not receive the scholarship and plan to take the course anyway, the scholarship application does not represent a reserved space in an AZA course. To secure a space in a course you must submit a complete registration, and pay the course registration fee in full. If you receive the scholarship, your full course registration payment will be refunded.

• 2025 scholarship applicants will be notified of their application status in November 2024
• 2026 scholarship applications open in June 2025
• 2026 scholarship applications will close in September 2025.

Scholarship may only be used towards an AZA Professional Development course. The scholarship includes:

• AZA course registration (full)
• Round-trip airfare from the scholarship recipient’s point of origin to the destination city (up to $700)
• Round-trip airport shuttle ground transportation (full)
• Hotel/lodging throughout the duration of the course (based on single occupancy rate)
• A per diem to cover meals and incidentals

1920-2011
AZA Executive Director 1972-1975

Margaret Dankworth (Peg) was born in Bellaire, Ohio, on July 22, 1920. She received her B.A. degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in Business Administration and Economics and an M.A. degree from New York University.

Peg had been the Office Manager for the National Recreation Association in New York, as well as its Field Representative in the Great Lakes District (1948-1958). She then became the Assistant Executive Secretary of American Institute of Park Executives (AIPE) and then the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) (1958-1970). In this capacity, she handled the affairs of the AZA for both parent associations. After 1970, she remained with the NRPA at the Oglebay Park office in Wheeling, West Virginia. This had been the location of the AIPE office (1957-1966) and then the NRPA office (1966-1970). In the spring of 1970, the NRPA opened their Washington, D.C. office. Peg remained at the Oglebay office handling AZA affairs until NRPA consolidated with other affiliates in Washington, D.C. office.

When the AZA separated from NRPA and became an independent association in January 1972, Peg was chosen as its first Executive Secretary (later in Peg's tenure this position title was changed to Executive Director). After handling Association affairs during its crucial early years, and being instrumental in establishing the AZA Management School, she retired from AZA in March 1975. In her retirement, Peg was active in historic preservation organizations and activities.