Walter Scott Jr. has expanded the Scott Scholars Undergraduate Program at Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering by awarding an additional $11.4 million over the next 10 years through his foundation before his death on September 25. The total donation to Colorado State University is $64.2 million.
According to CSU SOURCE, students in the program will receive up to “$22,000 annually for tuition, housing, and meals” starting in the current academic year. All current students in the program will move “to the same award level starting in the next academic year,” and for some, the change will result in an additional $16,000 per year.
Scott Scholars tend to be a diverse student body, which means that the scholarship not only helps California State University attract some of the best and brightest students, but also helps us create a more diverse engineering student body, which is beneficial not only to the Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering but per California State University. -“Susan Benzel, Professor of Practice at Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering.
“It was really just a gift and a huge investment in me, so I was so grateful,” said Hayley Stern, a first-year biomedical engineering student. “I really wanted to call my family and tell them about it.”
The additional funding will allow more students to be accepted into the program. There will now be 25 new Scott students per semester in first year versus 20 in previous years. CSU will be able to support 110 Scott Scholars annually compared to 80 in the past years.
“For many of the students who have been awarded a Scott Scholarship, this award will make a difference to them in their ability to attend California State University,” said Susan Benzel, Professor of Practice at Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering. “Scott scholars tend to be a diverse student body, which means that the scholarship not only helps CSU attract some of the best and brightest students, but also helps us create a more diverse engineering student body, which is beneficial not only to Walter Scott Jr. for engineering but for every California State University.”
The Susan Walter Scott Foundation will also provide funding for the Scott Scholars’ enrichment programs, totaling $8,000 per student for the duration of their education at CSU.
Furthermore, the Scott Foundation will also provide $5 million over the next 10 years to fund “high-impact areas of research identified by the college,” according to a SOURCE source. The Scott Foundation has specified that funded research programs should include opportunities for scientists to remain silent.
Benzel spoke about how the Scott Foundation’s gifts benefit all students at Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering, not just scholarship recipients.
“Programming for Scott students often extends to first-generation engineering students and to the broader engineering student body,” Benzel said. “We hope that students affected by these programs will carry the positive effects beyond Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering and California State University.”
Scott Jr. started in providing scholarships to students in 1983, and established the Scott Scholars Program in 2017, according to SOURCE.
“Walter (Scott Jr.) knew that CSU and the College of Engineering shared his passion for providing all students with the tools to succeed and give back, and he knew that CSU would be the kind of partner he was looking for to provide students with a solid, world-class engineering education,” said Pennen.
“I think it’s probably the best chance I’ve ever had,” Stern said. “I am so grateful to everyone who worked on it.”
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