LOUISVILLE, Ky. ― The largest single gift in Centre College’s nearly 200-year history will create a new scholarship program for first-generation students, the liberal arts college announced.
The first round of scholarships awarded by the Grissom Scholars Program will go to students in fall 2015, the school said. Ten Grissom Scholars will be selected from each entering class, with 40 recipients enrolled by fall 2018 at the approximately 1,400-student school in Danville.
The awards will include four-year, full-tuition scholarships plus additional aid to cover remaining financial need for qualifying students.
It’s part of an ongoing effort by Kentucky’s colleges and universities to raise the academic achievements of a new generation of students by attracting more students from homes where their parents never attained four-year college degrees.
Centre’s new scholarship program was established by Marlene and J. David Grissom. The amount wasn’t disclosed at their request, but it exceeds the school’s prior record gift of $22.5 million, said Centre President John A. Roush.
The gift is believed to be the largest single donation ever to any Kentucky college or university, Centre said.
