U. announces scholarship to aid families of attack victims

With the creation of Penn's Memorial Scholarship Fund, announced yesterday, the University will work to fund the education of those whose family members were victims in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The scholarship was established in memory of those who lost their lives in the attacks on New York and Washington. The fund will provide financial assistance for undergraduate students at Penn, giving preference to spouses and children of the victims.

University spokesman Ron Ozio said the Penn Memorial Scholarship Fund will be based on contributions from members of the Penn community.

"The fund is an affirmation of the intellectual and humanistic values that are so vital to our university and to the world community," Ozio said in an e-mail statement.

Penn, however, is not alone in its effort to support students whose educations might be hampered by the events of the past five weeks. Government officials, nonprofit organizations and foundations have come together to set up scholarships for those students who may be unable to provide for an education in the wake of the attacks.

Three weeks ago, former President Bill Clinton and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole announced the creation of the Families of Freedom Fund, which will pay for the post-secondary education of spouses and children of those killed or disabled in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It will also benefit those affected by the four plane crashes and the families of the relief workers.

All of the funds from the joint Clinton-Dole effort will go directly to students. Founded by the Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America, a Minnesota-based organization, and the Lumina Foundation for Education, the fund has already raised $8.4 million and fundraisers hope to hit at least $100 million.

Under this scholarship program, individual assistance will be determined based on funds available. Depending on the total amount of funding, educational assistance will be renewable for up to three years of undergraduate study.

"We do think that we will be able to provide enough financial assistance to the vast majority of spouses and children of those who were killed in the attacks," Citizens' Scholarship Foundation spokeswoman Carol Van Dyke said. "We will be able to provide some sort of assistance to everyone who has been affected."

The foundation, the nation's largest nonprofit scholarship organization, hopes to continue the fund as long as there is a need for such assistance, which some estimate could be as long as 25 years.

"We are committed to help those who have been terribly impacted by the events," Van Dyke said. "We foresee this as one large fund for them, and we hope that many others will join the effort -- from other scholarship funds to people and companies who want to make contributions."

Inspired by the Clinton-Dole announcement, other institutions have climbed on board with the Families of Freedom Fund, establishing their own scholarships as part of the larger fund or simply donating to the already existing effort.

The American Council on Education, for one, said in a letter to university presidents that it has established the September 11 College Fund, which will be administered by Citizens' Scholarship Foundation as part of the Families of Freedom Fund. The American Council on Education said it will publicize this national effort and encouraged its members to make contributions.

Additional scholarships are being created as a part of the larger Families of Freedom Fund. On Oct. 1, USA Weekend Magazine and the Points of Light Foundation, in partnership with the Citizens' Scholarship Foundation, announced the Make A Difference Day Scholarship Fund.

As a part of this fund, on Oct. 27, 2.6 million volunteers are expected to participate in a wide range of charitable activities across the nation as part of Make a Difference Day. This will be the first time in which volunteers are encouraged to get sponsors for their activities and raise money for the new fund.

The Lumina Foundation for Education, which cosponsored the fund with the Citizens' Scholarship Foundation, has directly donated $2 million, and $1 million will be matched dollar-for-dollar for donations made by other individuals.

Corporations such as TMP Worldwide, a recruitment advertisement agency, and Brocade Communications Systems and ONI Systems of Silicon Valley, have all pledged $1 million each.

Universities have also begun to participate in the initiative. Harvard University has already pledged a $1 million contribution to the Citizens' Scholarship Foundation program, and Georgetown University endorsed the project by holding the fund's formal announcement at its Washington, campus two weeks ago.

"We certainly hope that many more colleges and universities will follow suit," Van Dyke said. "We really anticipate rapid growth because of a number of initiatives like the ones some of the universities have begun to enact, as well as donations from other various sources."

Students said they would support Penn's involvement in this national initiative, but are wary about Penn setting up the Memorial Scholarship Fund to help out those affected by the tragedy instead of making direct donations to Citizens' Scholarship Foundation.

"I think [Penn] should get involved and that all colleges should participate, not just a handful of them," College junior Margaret Kucich said. "However, I am afraid that they are going to use our tuition money for the fund instead of money that has been set aside for donations."

Likewise, College junior Christina Pron said Penn should donate money directly.

"I do not think we should do it in the form of scholarships specifically created by Penn," Pron said. Students "should be able to take the money and use it how they wish."

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