College, Hutton donor funds new scholarships

An IU alumnus donated $100,000 to fund scholarships for students in the Hutton Honors College and the College of Arts and Sciences last week.

The gift, which will be split equally between the two colleges, will provide funding for undergraduate students who plan to study, intern or volunteer abroad in developing nations or concentrate on sustainability and development in industrializing nations, said Matthew Auer, dean of the Hutton Honors College. It will also assist direct admit students in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Devesh Shah, who graduated in 1997 with an individualized major in applied mathematics in finance, made the donation through a Goldman Sachs charitable giving program, according to a University press release.

“In and of itself, it’s not all that unusual for IU,” said Jocelyn Bowie, director of communications and marketing at the College. “But he’s quite young. For him to be doing this at his age and his stage in life is incredibly generous and noteworthy.”

In the release, Shah said he hopes to aid students with a strong academic background who also demonstrate financial need.

“With these scholarship dollars, it is my hope that financially needy but academically strong candidates will find a way to pursue activities at IU which will help them stretch their intellect, imagination and creativity,” he said.

Auer said he’s looking forward to the study abroad scholarship opportunities that could be made available with the money from Shah’s donation.

“We can help get a lot of students overseas and help subsidize their travel in places that are off the beaten track,” Auer said. “This Goldman Sachs scholarship makes it much easier to do.”

The Hutton scholarships will be awarded as other honors study abroad scholarships are, through the International Experiences Program, he said.

The scholarships offered through the College of Arts and Sciences differ, Bowie said.
The donation will be used to support direct-admit students in the College based on financial need and academic credentials.

“Education is a lifelong value to an individual, and for students to be able to graduate with little to no debt is an incredible benefit to them,” Bowie said. “When alumni like Mr. Shah are so generous and they turn around and support students, it’s really a huge benefit to the individual students who receive the scholarship help. It’s also a much greater benefit to all of us, all of society."