IIAT and Other Industry Groups Establish Internship, Scholarship Programs for Minority Students: "The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas reported that it is building an IIAT internship program to encourage minority college students in Texas to learn about careers in the insurance industry. The program will be part of a joint effort with Huston-Tillotson College in Austin, and other insurance organizations, including American Institute for CPCU, the Insurance Institute of America, and the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association, and others.
Minorities are reportedly the fastest growing segment of the population, but they often overlook well-paying insurance jobs including careers in the independent agency system, according to the IIAT."

allAfrica.com: PanAfrica: Education-Africa: Breaking the Link Between Pregnancy And Dropping Out: "At present, just a handful of countries in Africa have instituted laws that make it compulsory for schools to re-admit young mothers. The experience of these states has highlighted the need for officials not only to pass the relevant legislation - but also ensure that it is implemented.

'Where such laws exist, authorities must make sure they are enforced. It is my belief that this will drastically reduce the gender gap in education,' said Mlama, citing Kenya as one of the countries where the political will to implement the law had been lacking."

Scholarships available for unconventional talents, interests - 06/26/04: "There are scholarships for welders, fly fishers and pie makers, for golf caddies and skateboarders. There is one for pagans and another for parapsychologists. There is even one sponsored by fans of Klingons, the fictional bumpy-headed aliens of ``Star Trek'' fame.

One endowment fund is for needy music students who can sing or play the national anthem ``with sincerity.'' Another seeks clean-living young people who do ``not participate in strenuous athletic contests.'' (An occasional Frisbee toss is probably OK, its gatekeepers say.)"

Fairness in college admissions in the real world
-Commentary by Roger Hernandez

"Does that mean the only way to broaden participation in higher education is to go back to the days when it was OK to patronize certain ethnic groups? No.

Consider what is happening at Texas A&M University. The school says that it does not take ethnicity into account in admissions, yet recently said that, compared with last year, black enrollment will be up 57 percent and Hispanic enrollment 24 percent.

How did the school do that? Texas A&M conducted an aggressive recruitment campaign in poor neighborhoods and gave $8 million in scholarships to students who were the first generation in their families to go to college. A similar initiative, Gov. Jeb Bush's four-year-old "One Florida" program, bans consideration of ethnicity in admissions but steps up recruitment in poor neighborhoods and provides free SAT preparation for low-income students. Black enrollment in Florida's state college and university system went from 14 percent in 1998 to 15.7 percent for 2003-2004, and Hispanic enrollment increased from 13.8 percent to 16 percent.

Both states also have "percentage" plans. After a federal court outlawed use of ethnicity in admissions in 1998, Texas decided to guarantee that the top 10 percent of graduates from each high school will get into one of the state schools; Florida guarantees admission to the top 20 percent."

Minority scholarships to face legal critique: "Although the Supreme Court decision last summer focused on admissions, opponents of affirmative action programs have also questioned other methods universities use to recruit minority students, such as scholarships based on race. Some critics suggested they might make such scholarships the focus of their next legal challenge of affirmative action programs.
In March 2003, the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think-tank based in Virginia, sent a letter to U-M raising concerns about a dozen programs and scholarships aimed at minority students.
'We're not trying to end any programs,' said Roger Clegg, the center's general counsel. 'We're not trying to close down the school. We just want the programs to be opened up to all students regardless of race or ethnicity. Just as a matter of policy and fairness, it makes sense. To say that you can add to a university's diversity if and only if you are African-American I think is ridiculous.'
Clegg seemed to back off his challenge of U-M's scholarships in a recent interview, saying he is satisfied that U-M is reviewing its methods.
Thomas Roelofs of Plymouth, who has a daughter attending U-M, recalled going to a Campus Day event for families of admitted students, and listening with incredulity as many parents' questions about scholarships were not answered.
'What's really galling about them is they've always concealed what they do,' Roelofs said. 'If it was up to me, it would be socio-economic and academic (criteria for scholarships). Consider racial diversity, too. It's not a bad thing. But it's not the sacred holy cow they make it out to be.'
U-M administrators said they do not keep track of how many of their scholarships use race as an eligibility criteria, although they believe fewer than 10 percent awarded each year include race as one of the criteria for eligibility. "

allAfrica.com: Kenya: Education Threatened By Aids: "Odoyo said in Nyando District 100 teachers and 450 students die every year from HIV/Aids."

HoustonChronicle.com - Film festival casts eye toward minority talent: "Young black filmmakers are traveling to North Texas this week as organizers of the Juneteenth Film Festival search for the next Spike Lee. "

Blacks urge lawmakers to fund scholarships: "John Hurt, a 54-year-old truck driver and factory worker, said he would use the scholarship money to learn how to read and write better. Hurt was in the first grade when the Prince Edward County schools closed and didn't learn to read until he was an adult. "

[ I'm not sure why, but this doesn't quite square up for me. I'm happy for the former students but it seems like too little too late. I don't want to sound cynical but it just seems like a "feel good" gesture. It's like my position on reparations. You really can't afford (or unwilling to provide) any real, meaningful reparations so don't bother. Let's just make sure this mess doesn't happen again. Just my 2 cents. - Barry ]

Students borrow more as education costs increase - The Daily Texan - Top Stories: "The study, titled 'Paying For College,' examined undergraduate students' growing reliance on loans. Meanwhile, traditional resources such as grants, scholarships and family income are not keeping pace with the cost of tuition and fees. "

Study: Stellar high school performers failing college - ithacajournal.com: "Around the country, students, even those with stellar high school records, have discovered they don't have all the skills to survive in college. In Georgia, for instance, four out of 10 students who earn the popular Hope Scholarships to the state's university system lose the scholarship after they earn about 30 credits -- roughly one year's worth of work -- because they can't keep their grades up.

Student performance on college-admissions tests also point to possible grade inflation. Fifteen years ago, students with A averages accounted for 28 percent of SAT test takers, said Wayne Camara, who oversees research for the College Board.

Today, a whopping 42 percent of college-bound seniors have A averages, but they score no better on the college admissions tests than did 'A' students a decade earlier."

The Paris News - NASCAR Scholarships: NASCAR, which is quite possibly the only sport less diversified than golf in this country, has started a program this year called ?Drive for Diversity.?

NASCAR has vowed to find ways to put qualified African American drivers and crew members into its sport. Minority students are to be given racing related internships and scholarships, all with a push towards helping the sport broaden its fan base.

ZNet Commentary: Not-So-Little White Lies: Education and the Myth of Black Anti-Intellectualism : "Take, for instance, the oft-repeated claim by conservatives that lower black achievement in schools reflects the lower value placed on education by the black community, compared to whites or Asians.

Denying that racial discrimination might be implicated in different educational outcomes between African Americans and others, such commentators insist that different cultural attachments to education explain why whites and Asians score higher on achievement tests, tend to get higher grades, and are more likely to go on to college than their black counterparts. Some claim that blacks have adopted the attitude that doing well in school is %u201Cacting white,%u201D and have sabotaged their own futures by way of downgrading intellectual pursuits.

Black families come in for special condemnation under such an analysis, criticized for not reinforcing the educational work done in the classroom, and thereby undercutting whatever success teachers might otherwise have in educating their children. "

Poor teen earns diploma, scholarships thanks to mom's diligence: "He didn't tell anyone at school what was going on. Most of them aren't super-rich, but they're not on welfare. Not struggling. Not evicted from their apartment, living day-to-day in a Super 8 Motel just down the road from the high school. "

Crisis in the higher education / A leisurely college education: "The problem is mirrored on a national level. 'America's colleges and universities have a serious and deep-rooted problem: Far too many students who enter our higher education system fail to get a degree,' a recent report from the nonprofit group Education Trust concluded. "

A Novel Idea - GED Scholarships:“Our goal was to impact, within a 10-year period, the educational levels of 3,706 individuals in our community who did not have a high school education."

College tution rising faster than scholarships: "'In other words, the growth in grant aid was not enough to offset the price increases,' said the report, 'Paying for College.'
At the same time, families became more likely than ever to take out student loans, and the average size of student loans reached record highs.
'The resulting increase in borrowing has been one of the most dramatic changes in financial aid in the decade,' said the report, which was issued by the department's National Center for Education Statistics.
Susan Choy of MPR Associates Inc., who directed the center's study, said, 'Growth in tuition and fee increases also outpaced both inflation and growth in median family income.'"

National Science Foundation: Scholarship for Service

Applications are currently being accepted for consideration for NSF scholarships starting the fall semester of 2004.

The Florida State
University Information Security program currently has more available Scholarships than qualified applicants to award them to. We are actively seeking exceptional applicants to award this outstanding Scholarship opportunity. I understand that this is the last week of the Spring semester for most universities. If it is possible to pass this information along to any Computer Science sophomore or senior preparing for graduation and who would like a full-ride scholarship in Information Security at FSU, it would be greatly appreciated. The National Science Foundation Scholarship for Service program is a unique scholarship opportunity that will fund students in information assurance for the final two years of undergraduate study, or for two years of master's-level study, or for the final two years of
Ph.D.-level study. Students participate in a summer internship i n a federal agency at the end of their first year of support and upon graduation work for a federal agency for typically two years in Fulfillment of their Federal Cyber Service commitment. The scholarships provide academic year stipends of $8,000 per year for undergraduate students and $12,000 per year for graduate Students. Qualifying students are US Citizens with a minimum 3.0 GPA enrolled (or may enroll) full time in the Information Security track at Florida State University.

Scholarship Benefits:

* A stipend, in addition to the cost of tuition, fees, books, housing, lab expenses, supplies and equipment, the student will be awarded with a stipend of $12,000 for graduate students and $8,000 for undergraduate students.

* Research projects, related to large externally funded projects, will be assigned to students. These students may also receive additional
funding throughout the academic year.

* Internships and job opportunities with Federal Agencies in the
field of Information Assurance and Security.

* All graduates of the Information Security Program at Florida State University will receive the Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) Professionals Certificate compliant with NSTISSI standard No. 4011

For more information interested individuals may visit
http://www.sait.fsu.edu/nsf/cyber.htm.

Please feel free to contact me if I can provide you with additional information.

Angela Shrum
SFS Program Coordinator
Florida State University
104B Love Building
shrum@cs.fsu.edu
(850)645-1828

DFBSST Scholarships: "The Development Fund for Black Students in Science and Technology (DFBSST) is an endowment fund which provides scholarships to African-American undergraduate students who enroll in scientific or technical fields of study at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)"

Scholarship applications become available April 15th and must be submitted by June 15th. Scholarship recipients will be notified in early September.