Women & Philanthropy Gives Annual Awards
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 15, 2011) — A great university can measure success by the quality of opportunities offered to its students, faculty and staff. In September 2007, President Lee T. Todd, Jr. and First Lady Patsy Todd established Women & Philanthropy at the University of Kentucky in order to increase these types of opportunities throughout campus.
"Our vision for the UK Women & Philanthropy Network was to bring a group of like-minded women together in one central place so that our combined resources would make a greater impact," said Patsy Todd. "This effort recognizes the essential and continuing role of women in the life and progress of the university. And it also allows this group to learn and explore more of this great institution."
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Women & Philanthropy brings together women of diverse talents and experiences who all share the ambition of building a better UK and a better Kentucky. This common cause focuses on three major areas for combined giving through the pooling of membership gifts: scholarships, research and programs.
The Women & Philanthropy Network was able to award $169,000 in need-based scholarships to 39 UK undergraduate students in 2010. This year's awards have increased to $186,810 in scholarships to 43 students.
Scholarships are given to UK students involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but also health, education, music, art and study abroad programming.
This year's Women & Philanthropy scholarships focused on the following initiatives on campus:
· A faculty/student exchange program with the University of Western Cape, South Africa and the College of Arts & Sciences
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Joseph Mann, Krista Osmundson and Zachary Rose
· Appalachian & Minority Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (AMSTEMM) scholarships
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Maya Bentley, Richard Bradford, Emily Bryant, David Christopher, Suzanne Collazo, Kendall Corbin, Adam Erp, Jesse Finley, Allyson Hickman, Cevin Hogg, Kara Lowery, Cierra Newton, Taran Parsons, Ralph Saint Pierre and Briana Smith
· The Center for Study of Violence Against Children (CSVAC) Undergraduate Research Initiative
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Diana Flagg and Joshua King
· Funding to maintain and expand the College of Engineering's German and Engineering program through scholarships
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Anthony Hendren, Vanessa Holloway, Laura Martin, Timothy Moffett, Brandon Sander, Tyler Spresser and Logan Wells.
· Financial aid for Honors Program student foreign-travel and service-learning experiences
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Courtney Cox, Megan Freeman, Allison McVey, Benjamin Norton, Tiffany Patrick, Alexandria Sehon and Khercie Smith.
· UK Opera Theatre's “God Bless Us Everyone” performance in New York City
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Amanda Balltrip and Mitchell Hutchings.
· UK Symphony Orchestra scholarships and teacher assistantships
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Mary Combs, Melanie Erena, Alex Freeman, Korey Hunt, Chris Ice, Seonkyu Kim, Elliott Lane, Megan Lineberry, Amanda Markley, Elizabeth Navarra and Kierstin Quick.
· Funding for a new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programming in the College of Education
o W&P Scholarship recipients: Anastasia Barton, Jason Bridgeman, Christopher Cunningham, Chloe Keeling, Jessica McKim and Stephen Powers.
"Women & Philanthropy is more than an organization," said Patsy Todd. "We are a network of individuals who have a strong passion for the University of Kentucky and want to make a positive impact on its extraordinary students."
Women & Philanthropy will host a scholarship recipient celebration for student winners today at Maxwell Place.
MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Holaday Ziegler, (859) 257-1754, ext. 252; erin.holaday@uky.edu