UA Alumni Association to Offer Scholarships to Graduates’ Children

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The National Alumni Association of The University of Alabama has announced a new scholarship program to benefit the children and grandchildren of UA graduates.

The new scholarships, known as Alumni Heritage Scholarships, will provide 10 percent of the cost of tuition to incoming freshmen who have at least one parent or grandparent who earned a degree from UA and who has been an active member of the National Alumni Association for three of the last five years. The 10 percent figure will apply to either in-state or out-of-state tuition, whichever applies to the particular student.

The executive board of the National Alumni Association approved the program earlier this month, according to Pat Whetstone, UA director of alumni affairs. He said the program is expected to benefit about 300 students in its first year at an estimated cost of more than $100,000.

“The Board wanted to send a clear signal to our graduates that ‘we want your children.’ We are very eager to recruit these children and grandchildren, and we believe this scholarship will add an incentive to our graduates and their children to look closely at UA,” Whetstone said.

The Alumni Heritage Scholarship will be awarded to each student who qualifies in addition to any other scholarships that a student may have received.

Whetstone said the scholarships will be available for the first time to freshmen who enroll in the fall of 2002. In the future, students will be required to apply by the Dec. 1 scholarship priority date in order to be eligible, but that rule will be waived this year. Under current guidelines, the scholarships will be available for the freshman year only.

“We will send a letter to each student who is accepted to let them know about this new scholarship opportunity and encourage them to apply if they are eligible,” Whetstone said.

The National Alumni Association already awards more than $2 million in scholarships each year. UA is first in the nation in scholarship dollars provided by the alumni association, according to a recent national survey of peer schools.

Alumni and friends of UA are welcome to join the alumni association at any time. The minimum contribution for membership is $30 for a single person and $50 for a couple.

For more information, contact the UA National Alumni Association at 205/348-5963 or go the UA Alumni Affairs Web site at http://alumni.ua.edu. The mailing address is P.O. Box 861928, Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-0017.