University College at Creighton University has received a $1 million endowment gift from the Osher Reentry Scholarships program, which is to-date, the largest single gift that University College has received. This endowment gift will be used to support non-traditional students who are 25 to 50 years old and going back to school to obtain their first undergraduate degree and who have experienced a cumulative gap in their education by five or more years.
Bernard Osher, who was a respected businessman, founded the Bernard Osher Foundation in 1977. The Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life through the continued support for higher education. The Foundation provides post-secondary scholarship funding to colleges and universities across the nation, with special attention to reentry students.
In order to understand how this endowment will work, one must first understand the definition of endowment.
“An endowment, by definition, is an amount of money that is not spent. Rather it is allowed to produce income through investment and/or interest. The interest or investment income is then used to fund the scholarship. The Osher Foundation assumes that we will make five percent on the investment of $1 million. So, that five percent, or $50,000 is to be disbursed each year,” said Barbara Braden, Ph. D., dean of the University College.
If University College makes more than five percent on the million-dollar investment, the money is then added to the principal and is allowed to accrue interest. If University College has several years of investment income above the five percent level, they will then have more than $50,000 a year to disburse to about 15 to 20 students a year.
In order to apply for this scholarship, one must be a non-traditional student in-between the ages of 25 to 50 going back to school at the undergraduate level and pursuing their first baccalaureate degree. The applicant must then fill out a FASFA and an Osher application. Part of the Osher application involves writing an essay about why they need this grant, why they left school in the first place, why their reentry at this time is a priority for them and what a grant from the Osher Foundation would mean to them. The basis of this scholarship is offered by need, then, among those with high need, on the basis of academic promise or academic performance.
Creighton University was the only university in Nebraska to receive this scholarship. There were 73 universities who were recipients. Braden believes that Father Schlegel had a huge impact on receiving this scholarship.
“We were invited to apply because the foundation had seen what a good job that the University of San Francisco had done with their funding,” said Braden.
Father Schlegel was the president of USF at the time that the award was first given to them. So the Osher Foundation offered the scholarship to Creighton because they had seen how Father Schlegel used the scholarship. The Osher Foundation believed that Creighton could use this endowment just as wisely.
“We had to prove that we were offering the services that the adult student needed to succeed at re-entering a college population,” said Braden in reference to how they received this opportunity.
Braden believes that this scholarship will cut down the amount of debt that students would acquire while attending school; since those with high financial-aid-need often graduate with a great deal of loan-debt.
“It will mean that students who never dreamed that they could get a Creighton degree will have the opportunity to attempt this, and hopefully achieve this goal,” said Braden. “I am thrilled we were the recipients of this grant”.
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