February’s Black History Month is an important time to recognize and honor the contributions African-Americans have made in the United States and to acknowledge the hardships they have faced. It is also a time to examine our institutions and advance ways to strengthen them through enhanced diversity.
The Virginia Western Educational Foundation is proud to launch new annual and endowed scholarships, with support from an area advertising agency, intended to create greater diversity in the communications and advertising fields. The Virginia Western BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Annual Scholarship will be available to students in communications and advertising fields in Fall Semester 2021.
Interested students may apply for the scholarship beginning on March 1 at: https://www.virginiawestern.edu/scholarships/.
“We acknowledge that this scholarship is not a solution and is only one small step in welcoming new voices and new talent to our industry,” said Tony Pearman, President and CEO of Access Advertising & Public Relations which launched the fund with a lead gift. “Access, along with others, still has a lot of work to do; but our hope is that our peers will join us in creating opportunities to inspire BIPOC students to share their voices with the world through our industry.”
“We are extremely grateful for this generous gift from Access to launch the BIPOC Annual Scholarship,” said Dr. Robert H. Sandel, President of Virginia Western. “Access understands the intrinsic value of higher education and we hope this scholarship will open doors for a diverse array of students to seek their careers in communications and advertising.”
The scholarship will provide tuition assistance to a student enrolled in at least six credits per semester in a communications/advertising program of study. Applicable coursework at time of establishment includes Visual Design, Communication Design, Management, Administrative Management Technology, Web Programmer and Management: Entrepreneurship.
Access Advertising & Public Relations has served clients both domestically and internationally from its Roanoke office for more then 24 years.
For more information on how you can support the BIPOC Annual Scholarship or others, contact:
Amanda Mansfield, Philanthropy Director
Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation
amansfield@virginiawestern.edu
(540) 857-6962
