Private scholarship aid at Georgia Southern is up 5 percent this year

August 30, 2006

With a little help from some generous benefactors, Georgia Southern gave $890,115 in private scholarship aid to nearly 700 students during the last academic year. This amount is up nearly 5 percent from the previous academic year.

‘We’re grateful to the University’s benefactors for recognizing the need to provide increased private scholarship support for students,” said Beth Mathews, director of annual giving. ‘We are especially grateful that donors to ‘A Day for Southern” have recognized the need for scholarships.”

‘Without scholarship help, I would not have been able to attend Georgia Southern,” said Callie Gordon, a fifth-year student now completing a master’s degree in accounting. During her years at Georgia Southern, Gordon, a native of Albany, Ga., earned scholarships from the Georgia Society of CPAs, the Farley Nuclear Plant, the Rotary Club of Albany, the Ty Cobb Scholarship, and a University Honors Scholarship.

‘With careful planning and savings, my scholarships paid my tuition, books, rent, and food,” Gordon said, ‘and I didn’t have to take educational loans.” For extras she took a part-time job in the Honors Program office on campus, and last year she was named the 2005-2006 Student Employee of the Year.

Gordon is one among thousands of Georgia Southern students who have benefited from the generosity of individuals and companies in Bulloch County and across Georgia over the past 32 years. They received scholarships through the Georgia Southern University Foundation, a not-for profit organizations that raises money to meet University needs not funded by state allocations.

A significant portion of the private dollars raised by the Foundation comes by way of ‘A Day for Southern,” the annual one-day fund drive that solicits donations from the local business and professional community. This year ‘A Day for Southern” is planned for Tuesday, September 12. With a theme of ‘Together We’re Better,” the program will emphasize the strong ties between the Georgia Southern and the Statesboro-Bulloch County community.

‘Scholarship funds help turn our students’ dreams into reality,” said Mathews. ‘For low income students with no way to finance a college education, a scholarship may provide an education that results a rewarding career. For students struggling to support themselves without the benefit of federal assistance, scholarships ease the financial burden, allowing them to concentrate on their studies.”

For more information about scholarships at Georgia Southern, visit the Web at http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/finaid/ or contact the Georgia Southern University Foundation at 912-681-5253.