``You have to go to a college that is the best fit for you,'' he said. ``Now there is a financial incentive.''
Davis noted that 1,500 UAPB students have outstanding balances that must be covered so they can enroll for the fall, students he says he does not want to lose.
Carpenter told the assembly that part of it is up to the students to value their education and realize what finishing college can mean for their futures.
``Our children are not going to get anywhere in this day and age if they don't have a good education,'' the 92-year-old Carpenter told the crowd of several dozen school officials and students.
``We've got to do something for our race as a whole,'' she said. ``This is just a beginning.''
Carpenter arrived in a wheelchair but walked to the lectern with some assistance. She overcame any notion of frailty with her booming voice, which filled the atrium of the Harry R. Kendall Science and Health Mission Center.
Carpenter noted that she had six children when she started college and that she graduated in 1954, the same year one of her daughters graduated from high school. A number of her family members were in attendance Friday.
Brittney Coleman, a business administration student at Arkansas Baptist, said the scholarship money can help students avoid debt.
``I'll be spreading the word,'' Coleman said.
Students can apply for the scholarships through Aug. 31.
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