What a fantastic donation to helping out students who need a little financial help! The news from Virginia Western Community College:
“Virginia Western Community College announces that the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust has made a commitment of $5 million over five years to create an endowment for scholarships at the College. At least 75 percent of the funding will be used for scholarships in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and healthcare.
“This gift, with an emphasis on science, engineering, technology, mathematics and healthcare, should give the younger citizens of the Roanoke Valley an opportunity to become a part of the Valley’s future economic success,” said W. Heywood Fralin, co-trustee of the Fralin Charitable Trust. “Hopefully, others will join this effort to enlarge Virginia Western Community College’s scholarship endowment. It’s important to the future economic growth of this Valley.”
The donation is the largest ever made to the Virginia Western Educational Foundation, nearly doubling its assets to $10.9 million. The gift single-handedly moves the Virginia Western Educational Foundation from the 16th-largest foundation among the 24 in the Virginia Community College System to fourth. This is the largest donation dedicated to scholarships in the history of the Virginia Community College System and one of the largest for community college scholarships in the country. The unprecedented increase in scholarships will help more students prepare for rapidly growing career fields and enhance the local workforce.
Like the trend nationally, the Roanoke region is experiencing growth in the middle-skill jobs that require additional education and training past high school. Virginia Western is addressing the needs of the local workforce by providing associate degree and certificate programs in all the region’s most sought-after fields. Virginia Western associate degree students have guaranteed admission transfer options to more than 32 four-year colleges and universities.
Virginia Western maintains the second-largest enrollment, behind only Virginia Tech, of postsecondary institutions in the Roanoke region. Eighty-five percent of Virginia Western’s graduates remain in the Roanoke area and 65 percent are enrolled in programs that fill the workforce needs of the region. With a new center for science and health professions slated to open for students in 2013, the College’s impact on area healthcare professions will only expand.”
You can read the full article here on the VWCC website.
