Prioritizing Scholarships
Approximately $80 million has been generated for a permanent endowment since the Presidential Fellowships and Scholarships program was created six months ago.
Establishing new funding for graduate and undergraduate students has been a key priority of Carnegie Mellon University President Subra Suresh.
"I also am pleased to report that every college and school at CMU will benefit from the student financial support made possible by this program," President Suresh said.
He noted the collaborative efforts that made this possible.
"I am most grateful to our faculty and staff colleagues, alumni, academic and administrative leaders, trustees and nonprofit foundations for their passionate commitment to this project; for their generosity; and for the collegial and thoughtful manner in which they have helped galvanize our community to demonstrate rapid success in the early stages of this very important effort," President Suresh said.
He added that growing the endowment for student support will remain a key priority project for himself and the university.
To put the potential impact in perspective, consider the support of graduate students. The standard annual draw from an endowed fund of $1 million will just about cover the full academic year tuition of one Ph.D. student per year. CMU currently is home to nearly 2,000 doctoral students.
"While the past six months have yielded very encouraging results, CMU's need for permanently endowed fellowships and scholarships far exceeds our current ability to offer financial support to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive global marketplace," President Suresh said.
The first cohort of Presidential Fellowship recipients will be selected in Spring 2015 through a process overseen by the Office of the Provost that will invite nominations from the department heads and deans of the schools and colleges.
The Office of Undergraduate Admission, with input from the provost and the deans, will help select the Presidential Scholarship recipients.
Further details on the Presidential Fellowships and Scholarships program, including the selection process and the names of benefactors, will be announced next semester.
Related Links: Funding the Best and Brightest | May 13, 2014, letter to the CMU community