Cooke Foundation nominations being accepted.

Published or Revised October 24, 2007

Nominees from Paris Junior College with financial need may be eligible for the largest scholarship for community college students and recent alumni, according to Toni McMillen, PJC communications instructor. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has opened the nominations process through an initiative called the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program. The Foundation will award up to $30,000 annually per recipient to help students and recent alumni from community and two-year institutions pursue four-year degrees at any accredited college or university in the United States and abroad. Last year, the foundation received over 700 nominees for these awards. While 45 percent of all college students in the US attend community colleges, few private funds are available to help to community college students transfer to four-year institutions, in spite of their high levels of ability and need. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarships can provide funding for tuition, room and board, required fees, and books for the length of the undergraduate degree, generally two years. Each award can total up to $30,000 annually, though the amounts will vary based on such factors as the cost of the institution each recipient attends. The Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke to help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. Cooke was a businessman and philanthropist who owned such professional sports teams as the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Redskins as well as the Chrysler Building in New York City. When he died in 1997, he left most of his fortune to establish the Foundation. The Foundation plans to award approximately 50 scholarships through this program in spring, 2008. It will renew awards each year based up performance. Current students are eligible, as are alumni who have earned a degree from a community or two-year institution since spring 2003 and have not since transferred to a four-year college. All candidates must be nominated by the faculty representative at their community or two-year institution. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 1, 2008. McMillen, PJC’s faculty representative, may be contacted by calling 903-782-0450 or by e-mail at tmcmillen@parisjc.edu.