$70M Offered For Scholarships

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A foundation has committed to give $70 million to support private scholarships for California's community college students.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and community colleges Chancellor Diane Woodruff on Tuesday announced the plan, which will be funded by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

"I know firsthand the incredible value of community colleges from my time at Santa Monica College," Schwarzenegger said in a prepared statement. "They serve a vital role in preparing our workforce, and this gift will provide innumerable benefits to our state's economy and diverse communities."

The commitment was described as the single largest gift to a community college system in the nation and one of the largest gifts ever made to higher education.

The Osher Initiative includes two separate commitments that will assist students with $1,000 scholarships at each of the state's 109 community colleges. A $50 million gift will support endowed annual scholarships at community colleges, $25 million of which will go immediately to fund an endowment managed by the Foundation for California Community Colleges.

The remaining $25 million will be contributed to the endowment on a two-to-one match. The FCCC will lead an effort to raise a matching $50 million over a three-year period. The resulting $100 million endowment will serve as a permanent fund for annual student scholarships, offering a long-term solution to the rising costs of books, supplies and equipment that often hinders many students from completing their education. Once the endowment is fully funded, at least 5,000 scholarships will be awarded each year.

In addition to the $50 million gift, the Osher Initiative will provide $20 million to support endowed scholarship programs at California State University and University of California campuses that do not currently have Osher scholarship programs in place. These scholarship programs will be for community college students transferring to the CSU and UC campuses.

"We are all overjoyed about this historic and unprecedented gift to the California Community Colleges," Woodruff said in a statement. "The Osher scholarships will provide much needed financial support to many of our students who may not otherwise be able to complete their studies."

There are more than 2.6 million students enrolled in the state's community colleges, making it the largest higher education system in the nation.