September 23, 1999 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Just weeks after catapulting up the ranks to become the nation’s largest foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $1-billion over 20 years to start a college scholarship program for low-income minority students.
The “Gates Millennium Scholars” program will be administered by the United Negro College Fund, in Fairfax, Va.
“This is a historic effort to improve the diversity of higher education,” said William C. Gray III, president of the United Negro College Fund. “All of society benefits when the doors of education are opened to a group of kids who wouldn’t otherwise get the chance.”
The U.N.C.F., a consortium of 39 private, four-year, historically black colleges and universities, will oversee the program in partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, in San Francisco, and the American Indian College Fund, in Denver.
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to Hispanic students, while the American Indian College Fund raises scholarship and other funds for the nation’s 30 tribal colleges.
The Gates Foundation, in Seattle, became the nation’s largest fund, with $17-billion in assets, after the Gateses last month added $6-billion to the philanthropy’s coffers (The Chronicle, August 26).
The foundation will provide $50-million a year to the program, which each year will select 1,000 students who are enrolled in bachelor’s-degree programs at four-year colleges. Once selected, students are eligible to receive money every year until they graduate, provided that they maintain at least a 3.0 grade-point average.
In addition, the foundation has said it will offer those students money for graduate school if they seek degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, education, or library science.
High-school seniors who are black, Asian, Hispanic, or American Indians are eligible to apply. They must demonstrate academic promise as well as such serious financial need that they would otherwise not be able to attend college without the scholarship.
“With this program, we will reduce the financial obstacles that prevent many deserving students from fulfilling their potential,” said Melinda Gates in a statement. “If we can ease the financial strains many students encounter, hopefully they can focus their full efforts on academic pursuits.”
During the first year of the scholarship program, college students who are freshmen, sophomores, or juniors in the fall of 2000 will also be eligible to apply. After the initial year, however, it will only be open to high-school seniors.
More information about the program is available on the Internet at http://www.gmsp.org.
