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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Presidential Scholarships Reward High Achievers, Target Local Workforce Needs


A bequest from the estate of David W. Stewart to the Monroe Community College Foundation has helped to launch The Presidential Scholarship for Academic Excellence at Monroe Community College. The scholarship is inherently designed to support students pursuing careers that satisfy pressing community needs.

A respected chemist and Kodak retiree, Stewart taught briefly at Monroe Community College and was an active member of the American Chemical Society and First Unitarian Church. He passed in May 2004.

Beginning in the fall, the scholarship program will award selected incoming students with up to full-tuition scholarships. To qualify for a full-tuition scholarship, a student must be among the top 5 percentile of their graduating high school class, have achieved a 1300 minimum SAT score and be enrolled full-time in an MCC degree program. Targeted programs of study include science, mathematics, engineering science and technology, law and criminal justice, community service and pre-professional programs. The scholarship is renewable for the sophomore year.

“The Presidential Scholarship program will give high academic achievers another reason to take a look at Monroe Community College,” said MCC President R. Thomas Flynn. “Our hope is that generous scholarships will persuade more of our community’s most gifted students to fulfill their educational and professional promise in Rochester—especially in those career fields our community needs most,” he said.

Nearly 90 percent of MCC career-program graduates who work full time are employed locally. Of those students who transferred to four-year colleges in 2004, 71 percent stayed in the Rochester region.

According to MCC Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Tony Felicetti, diverse educational and campus life offerings—including over 83 degree programs, residence halls and nationally recognized athletic teams—are some of the factors that make MCC desirable to students and families. Scholarships made possible by private support, such as The Presidential Scholarship for Academic Excellence, directly impact student lives and confirm the value of MCC’s role in our community.

“The new scholarship program allows MCC to compete more effectively with other colleges, especially those that lure students away from Rochester,” said Felicetti, who also serves on the MCC Foundation Board of Directors. “Scholarships remove financial barriers to personal success and, ultimately, may motivate a student to stay and contribute to our local economy as leaders and innovators after graduation,” he said.

Applications for The Presidential Scholarship for Academic Excellence are available by contacting MCC’s Admissions Office at x2200.

 

Rosanna Condello
College and Community Relations
04/25/2006