Hutton grant funds overseas study

The Hutton Family Study Abroad Scholarship received a $500,000 gift from the Edward L. Hutton Foundation in early June, the largest gift to date that will benefit from a matching program at IU.

Edward Hutton’s children, Tom, Jennie and Ted, made the gift to honor and extend the legacy of their late father, a large benefactor to IU and the Honors College.

“(The scholarship) extends the power and reach of current international experiences program,” said Matt Auer, dean of the Honors College. “They are continuing his legacy of philanthropy and of promoting study abroad programs at IU.”

The endowment will be managed by the IU Foundation.

The $500,000 will be invested in a variety of stocks, bonds and alternative investments to create a return used for scholarship opportunities.

“We’re always most interested in the 10-year balance,” said Barbara Coffman, IU Foundation executive director for strategic planning and communications. “This endowment is going to be here as long as there is an Indiana University.”

In fiscal 2011, the return rate of University endowments, $1.5 billion, was 24.1 percent.

IU was ranked sixth among public, American universities for the market return rate of its endowments, according to a report issued by the National Association of College and Business Officer-Commonfund Study of Endowments in January.

The goal of the scholarship is to increase student access to overseas opportunities.

“Travels are getting more expensive. This will give students the opportunity to actually study abroad,” Coffman said. “International experience of all kinds is one of the University’s big priorities, and the more students that have that global perspective, the more global Indiana University becomes.”

The scholarship is part of a larger “Principles of Excellence” program proposed by President McRobbie, which articulates a provision to match each study abroad endowment return.

The match will double scholarship support available.

“We realize study abroad costs are going up, and so part of that money is going to be used to bulk up the awards,” J.R. Nolasco, Edward L. Hutton InternationalExperiences Program manager said.

In academic 2011, the Honors College helped sponsor 548 students to travel overseas.

Next year, the Honors College hopes to reach 600 students.

“We prefer students who go off the beaten track, like non-traditional countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Oceania and South America,” Nolasco said. “The majority of students historically go to Western Europe. We want to get people interested in other areas of the world.”

Nolasco is on the faculty selection committee that will review award applications. He said family heritage and academic or professional interest all constitute a strong
applicant.

All full-time IU students, admitted to the Honors College or not, can apply for this award.

Last year, the Honors College had an 85-percent acceptance rate for awards given.

Scholarship amounts generally range from $500 to $2,500.

Since its 2003 inception, the Hutton International Experiences Program has sponsored 4,000 students.

“Just to go abroad and have that experience, I think it’ll change people for the better,” Nolasco said.