More than 400 West Virginia University students will return to campus for the fall semester as WVU Alumni Association Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund scholars. These students have provided extraordinary service to their communities, participated in student leadership and excelled in the classroom. They will be recognized for their success with more than $450,000 in scholarships for the 2013-14 academic school year.
The WVU Alumni Association will host an open house celebration for this year’s recipients and families on Aug. 18 from 3-5 p.m. at The Erickson Alumni Center. James Gardill, a member of the Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund Trust Committee, will provide welcoming remarks at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The fund has been providing financial assistance to WVU students for more than 75 years. Since its inception in 1937, the fund has provided academic support for more than 4,500 worthy West Virginia students attending WVU totaling more than $7.5 million.
“This is the 76th year that the LPEF has provided our students with scholarships,” said Stephen L. Douglas, president and CEO, WVU Alumni Association. “The fund is constantly growing and we are able to enhance the amount of financial assistance to our students to help offset the growing costs of higher education. These students have worked hard to achieve success and we are pleased to be able to assist them with their academic experience at WVU.”
The fund, which currently has more than $12.1 million in assets, is funded completely from unsolicited donations and requires no legal obligation of repayment, only a moral one to “pay your education forward” when able to, and help other young students have the opportunity to attend WVU.
To qualify for a scholarship, students must be West Virginia residents, have a minimum grade point average of 2.75, and demonstrate financial need, leadership and good citizenship proven through their extracurricular activities.
Scholarship recipients are selected by the fund trust committee, including Gen. Earl M. Anderson, USMC, Ret.; James H. “Buck” Harless; and Gardill. Douglas serves as the trust committee’s executive secretary.
