But the rapidly growing institution realizes the need to attract more diverse, bright students from Pennsylvanias big cities, and HU recently answered Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutters call to do just that: Nutter announced early this year an initiative to push more Philadelphia students to and through college and direct up to 1,000 scholarships toward them. In response, HU will provide 20 scholarships to students who qualify over the next four years as part of the Philadelphia Scholars program.
What you have is another political official that recognizes the link between economic development and education, says HU president Mel Schiavelli, who indicated his school gets about a dozen applications from Philadelphia every year. (Nutters) goals are the same as our goals, which include increasing the percentage of residents there that have a college degree.
What better way to put our brand in that market than to sign up to give them scholarships,
Drexel University is the other school to make a similar commitment, offering 250 scholarships to Philadelphia students. HU will start with two scholarships in the upcoming academic year (2010-11) and will add two more each of the next three years. The 20 total scholarships are worth nearly $500,000 and come from a variety of funding sources.
HU, which already boasts one of the lowest tuitions among PAs private universities, will offer Philadelphia Scholar awards that cover full-time tuition after all other sources of need-based aid are exhausted, ensuring recipients can graduate with no student loan burden.
Schiavelli believes that the program will greatly benefit both cities, although he is hoping Philadelphia students stick around longer than four years.
In the interest of Central PA, wed love to bring that talent here, give it a job and keep it here, says Schiavelli.
Source: Mel Schiavelli, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
Writer: Joe Petrucci