$1 Million Gift Funds BVU’s Invest in Rural Iowa Scholarship Program
An anonymous donor has stepped forward to fund the Invest in Rural Iowa Scholarship Program at BVU, providing up to $20,000 in scholarship assistance to 60 Northwest Iowa students.
An anonymous donor believing in Buena Vista University’s mission to make Northwest Iowa thrive has given the University $1 million for student scholarships.
Stepping forward to fund BVU’s Invest in Rural Iowa Scholarship Program, the benefactor pledges to provide four years of scholarship assistance to new enrolled students from Northwest Iowa who demonstrate significant financial need while showing high potential to return to their rural communities to be engaged, supportive citizens.
Fifteen awards of $5,000 each will be awarded to students in the Invest in Rural Iowa Scholarship Program each year for the next four years. A student may qualify for an award in that amount for up to four years of his or her BVU experience.
These scholarships will touch the very students who endeavor to make their communities thrive with their talent, their tenacity, and their dedication to this region.”
Joshua Merchant
Sixty students are set to receive the impact of $20,000 from this scholarship while enrolled as BVU undergraduates.
“This is truly remarkable, a seven-figure investment in scholarships for students from Northwest Iowa,” says BVU President Joshua Merchant. “This gift shows a belief in our mission to do all we can to turn out leaders and doers who will one day grow businesses and, as a result, our rural communities.”
The University, in turn, will support students in the program by employing an academic coach in each of its four schools: the Harold Walter Siebens School of Business, School of Science, School of Liberal Arts, and School of Education. Coaching responsibilities include assisting students with academic and non-academic issues and challenges, accessing school resources and career preparation to ensure each student’s ability to succeed and graduate from BVU.
The news comes in the wake of Merchant announcing the founding of The Donald F. and Charlene K. Lamberti Center for Rural Entrepreneurship.
“Our goal to bring business leaders together with faculty and students has taken a giant leap with these amazing developments,” says Merchant. “These scholarships will touch the very students who endeavor to make their communities thrive with their talent, their tenacity, and their dedication to this region.”
Those eligible for the Invest in Rural Iowa Scholarship Program will be Storm Lake campus students who are eligible to receive the federal Pell Grant and/or the Iowa Tuition Grant. Students must hail from one of the following 19 Northwest Iowa counties: Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Lyon, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, O’Brien, Osceola, Sac, Sioux, Webster, and Woodbury.
BVU last week was named a Best Value School Among Regional Universities by the prestigious U.S. News & World Report annual rankings. BVU, which earned the No. 4 ranking on a list of 69 similar universities in the region, finished 28 spots ahead of any Iowa institution. Scholarship and grant aid were key factors in this ranking, which noted that the annual average cost to attend BVU, which includes room and board, comes to $21,592 when taking into account the amount of grant and scholarship aid students continue to earn.
“Seventy-five percent of financial aid awards at BVU come in the form of grants and scholarships, which do not have to be repaid,” says Kevin McIntyre, vice president of enrollment management. “We are extremely grateful for the Invest in Rural Iowa Scholarship Program, another effort in our mission to make BVU an affordable option to everyone.”
To apply, contact your BVU admissions counselor at admissions@bvu.edu or call 800.383.9600.