Plano, Texas, May 31, 2009 — In its inaugural grants cycle, the Suder Foundation has awarded planning grants to the University of Kentucky and the University of Utah for developing its Suder Scholars program. The institutions will work with the Foundation to develop campus supports for the Foundation’s scholarship recipients who are the first in their family to attend college. Upon the successful completion of the planning grant year, the universities will receive scholarship support and seed funding for operations to pilot the Program.
Cohorts of 20 students at each university will receive $5,000 renewable scholarships. In addition, a dedicated program manager will oversee specialized programming as well as connect students with campus resources to increase the students’ retention and graduation rates. The planning teams’ work will be two-fold: developing the initial set of materials for what is to become a national model; and aligning the necessary resources on their campus to begin the program in August, 2010.
“Each institution brings different strengths to the planning process and their combined expertise will help us establish a quality program for our scholarship recipients,” said Eric Suder, President of The Suder Foundation. “More importantly, the teams seem to have the heart that fits with what we’re trying to do.”
The two institutions were selected from nearly 50 proposals received.
The Suder Foundation partners with selected public universities to provide seed funding for a holistic support program for students who are first in their family to attend college. In addition to multi-year scholarships, students selected as Scholars will participate in mentoring, tutoring, and campus and community engagement opportunities designed to increase their retention and, ultimately, graduation from college. Established in 2008, the Suder Foundation is a private foundation with headquarters in Plano, Texas.
For more information about the Suder Foundation and its Scholars program, visit www.firstscholars.org.
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