Rice, Urban League Establish Scholarship Program

CONTACT: Philip
Montgomery

PHONE: (713) 831-4792

EMAIL: pmontgom@rice.edu

RICE, URBAN LEAGUE ESTABLISH SCHOLARSHIP
PROGRAM

University to Offer $12,000 Over Four
Years for Each Award Recipient

Rice University and the Houston Area Urban League
have established a scholarship program to identify and give opportunity to
outstanding students who otherwise might not pursue a quality private
education.

The Houston program is the model for an Urban
League Scholarship that will allow Rice and Urban League affiliates throughout
the country to form a close relationship. The Urban League will nominate
outstanding students for annual $3,000 scholarships to Rice that will be funded
by the university. Rice will select the winners from students who earn
admission.

When the program is in full flower, a total of 40
Urban League Scholars, 10 each year, will be on campus at a time. Each of these
students will receive $3,000 per year, for a total award of $12,000 per student.
Any additional financial need the student has will be met by a combination of
grants and self-help.

“The establishment of these scholarships could
not be more timely,” Rice President Malcolm Gillis said. “It comes at a time
when federal money to support needy students is not expanding rapidly
enough.

“I relate very personally to this kind of help
because it was through a combination of scholarships and part-time jobs that I
financed my entire undergraduate education. To this day, I am grateful for that
opportunity. By allying with Rice in this program, the Urban League is again
showing the way in keeping opportunity open to all.”

Sylvia Brooks, president and CEO of the Houston
Area Urban League, said, “The Houston Area Urban League is ready, committed and
determined to create real, positive and enduring opportunities for the children
of our community. This collaborative scholarship program represents an
investment in their future.”

Ann Wright, vice president for enrollment at
Rice, said, “Rice and the Urban League have the same educational goal: to offer
talented and deserving students the best educational opportunity available. This
program combines the Urban League’s outreach and experience with Rice’s superior
education. We look forward to receiving applications from this special group of
award winners.”

Nomination forms–to be submitted to Rice by Dec.
1 of a students’ senior year–will be made available to Urban League affiliates
annually. The application fee to Rice will be waived for all Urban League
nominees. Scholarship winners will be notified of their selection and their
financial awards along with their Rice admission decision in the spring of their
senior year.

Further information concerning the Rice Urban
League Scholarships can be obtained by contacting the Houston Area Urban League
at (713) 845-2501.

Rice University, on the nation’s third coast and
in its fourth-largest city, was named by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine
as the best value in the nation among private universities. Rice is a leading
research university distinguished by its selectivity, superior teaching, small
size, individual attention and collaborative and interdisciplinary
culture.

The Houston Area Urban League is a premier civil
rights, non-profit, community based United Way agency, affiliated with the
National Urban League. The league has a long and distinguished record as an
agency that offers tangible, lasting benefits to all members of the community
through services offered in the areas of work force development and training,
housing and education.