Healthcare CEO Launches Personal Crusade Against Bigotry with New Scholarship

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – January 06, 2026 – Keith Myers, a nationally recognized healthcare executive with a decades-long career leading major health systems, has announced a new personal initiative aimed at confronting one of society’s most persistent challenges. The Keith Myers Scholarship to Stop Bigotry and Hate was launched this week to galvanize American undergraduate students into developing actionable strategies to foster inclusivity and combat intolerance.

The scholarship moves Myers’ long-standing advocacy for vulnerable populations from the healthcare sector into the broader social arena, creating a new platform for the next generation of leaders to contribute to a national dialogue on prejudice and understanding.

From the Boardroom to a Battle for Understanding

For nearly two decades, Keith Myers has been at the helm of MorseLife Health System, serving as its President and Chief Executive Officer since 2007. Under his leadership, the organization has become a premier center for senior care in Palm Beach County. His professional career, which includes executive roles at several other major healthcare institutions and a Master's degree in Health Services Administration from George Washington University, is marked by a focus on strategic growth, governance, and operational excellence.

However, this new scholarship reveals a personal mission that extends beyond corporate leadership. It appears to be the culmination of a career dedicated to service, now channeled into a direct confrontation with social intolerance. This commitment is also reflected in his philanthropic work, including his role as president of the Keith and Ginger Myers Family Foundation, a private entity focused on supporting education and other charitable causes. The scholarship, funded as a personal endeavor, leverages his belief in education as a primary driver of societal progress.

“The ability of young people to confront bias and champion inclusivity is vital to shaping a fairer society,” Myers stated in the announcement. He emphasizes that the initiative is designed to elevate student voices and provide a forum for ideas that can inspire real-world change. “Through this scholarship, students can share ideas that inspire progress and advance understanding among diverse populations.”

A Call to Action for the Next Generation

The Keith Myers Scholarship to Stop Bigotry and Hate is not a passive financial award; it is structured as an explicit call to action. The core of the application is a 750 to 1,000-word essay that challenges students to think critically about the roots of prejudice and propose concrete solutions. Applicants are asked to explore how education, leadership, or a sense of personal responsibility can be wielded as effective tools against hate.

The judging criteria reinforce this focus on substantive engagement, prioritizing not just the quality of writing but the depth of critical thinking and the applicant's ability to articulate "meaningful approaches to confronting prejudice." The initiative invites students to draw from personal experience, academic research, or societal observations to build their arguments. The winning essay will earn a one-time $1,000 award for a single undergraduate student.

By focusing on student-generated solutions, the scholarship aims to empower young people as active participants in social change rather than passive observers. “The Keith Myers Scholarship to Stop Bigotry and Hate is more than a financial award,” Myers explained. “It is a call to action for students to engage with complex societal issues, reflect on their responsibilities as leaders, and contribute to a culture of respect and understanding.”

More Than Money: Scholarships as a Tool for Social Change

While numerous scholarships exist to promote diversity and inclusion, many focus on supporting underrepresented students within specific academic fields or professions. The Keith Myers Scholarship distinguishes itself with its direct and unambiguous mission: to "Stop Bigotry and Hate." This framing shifts the focus from simply increasing representation to actively dismantling the ideologies that create division.

This solution-oriented approach aligns with modern educational theories on combating bias, which stress the importance of moving beyond awareness to active engagement and problem-solving. By requiring students to formulate and articulate strategies for change, the scholarship encourages a level of intellectual and personal investment that can foster a deeper, more lasting commitment to social justice. It positions financial aid as a catalyst, using the incentive of a scholarship to generate a repository of fresh ideas and perspectives on a deeply entrenched societal problem.

The initiative joins a growing trend of philanthropic efforts that use educational funding as a strategic tool to advance specific social goals, recognizing that investing in the intellectual capital of the next generation can yield returns far beyond the dollar amount of the award itself.

A Personal Initiative with Broader Alignment

Though the scholarship is a personal project of Keith Myers, its ethos of education and advocacy mirrors the community-focused work of the organization he leads. MorseLife Health System has its own history of educational outreach, including the establishment of the Holocaust Learning Experience to provide crucial historical education to local students. This parallel suggests a consistent philosophy of leveraging education to foster empathy and understanding, whether through corporate social responsibility or individual philanthropy.

The separation of the scholarship from MorseLife underscores its nature as a personal crusade, rooted in Myers' own convictions about leadership and service. It represents an individual's attempt to apply the principles of strategic problem-solving, honed over a lifetime in the executive suite, to a complex social ill.

Students across the United States who are currently enrolled or planning to enroll in an accredited undergraduate institution are encouraged to apply. The deadline for essay submissions is September 15, 2026, with the winner scheduled to be announced one month later on October 15. All application materials and further information are available on the scholarship's official website.