IU receives grant to aid adult undergraduates

The University recently received a $1 million endowment and a $50,000 grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation.

This organization sponsors the Osher Reentry Scholarship program, which donates money to adult university students who are pursuing baccalaureate
degrees.

“Indiana University Bloomington has long been committed to delivering quality educational programming to adult learners,” said Lauren Robel, provost and executive vice president, in a press release. “The Osher Reentry Scholarship endowment ensures that future generations of adult students at IU will have the financial support necesary to improve their lives through higher education.”

More than 66 students have earned a scholarship since 2009. The endowment
 will sponsor at least 20 scholarships each year. In order for adults to be eligible for these scholarships, they have to have had a break in their education of at least five years and plan to pursue a job after graduation. The amounts range from $1,500 to $3,000.

About 1,000 undergraduate students at IU are “nontraditional,” or 25 years or older. Since 1975, IU has worked to provide specialized services and programs to these
students.

“As a single parent, having the opportunity to go to college so late in life has truly been a blessing,” Osher Scholar and sociology major Lisa Carter said in a press release. “And it is with much gratitude that I will finally achieve my dream of being a college graduate in
May 2013.”

— Sydney Murray