Date: July 23, 2007
Contact: Eric Matanyi
Governors State University
Phone: (708) 534-4044
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: e-matanyi@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, IL, July 23, 2007 – The Governors State University Foundation announced that it has received $125,000 for scholarships from Blue Island based Great Lakes Bank. The amount represents the largest monetary donation that the university has received since the construction of The Center for Performing Arts.
On July 12, Great Lakes Bank President Ronald Shropshire and Fred Mansfield, Foundation Chairman of Great Lakes Bank, met with GSU representatives including President Elaine Maimon and Foundation Director of Community Relations Ronald Bean to establish the Great Lakes Bank Scholarship Fund. Bean also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board for the Great Lakes Bank Board of Directors.
“This is a win-win situation for both organizations,” said Maimon. “Bankers believe in worthwhile investments, and there is not a better investment than education. This partnership exemplifies the idea that the university is a public square, or a place for organizations of all types to come together and support the region.”
The scholarship is open to students who have graduated or transferred from area community colleges including Moraine Valley, Prairie State, South Suburban, and Joliet Junior College. To qualify for a Great Lakes scholarship, applicants must be enrolled in GSU’s College of Business and Public Administration, College of Education, or College of Health Professions. They must also submit an essay describing how they will use their degree in the southland metropolitan region, which includes south Cook and Will counties.
Each fall, five students will be chosen to receive an award of $1000. The scholarship program will provide assistance to qualified students over a period of 25 years.
“We chose to support students at Governors State University due the student body’s geographic and cultural diversity,” Shropshire said. “The university is also preparing tomorrow’s leaders in healthcare, education, and business, which closely corresponds to the bank’s mission to support those areas.”
Mansfield added, “It is gratifying and exciting to provide this type of much needed assistance to local students. I’ve watched Chicago’s southland expand for many years. Our investment in tomorrow’s graduates will help ensure that growth continues.”
In addition to the new scholarship fund, Great Lakes is also sponsoring jazz-piano great Ramsay Lewis’ performance at GSU’s Jazz in the Park for Charities concert on July 29.
“Great Lakes’ generosity is quite remarkable,” Maimon said. “With their assistance and dedication to education, we’re able to improve resources and financial access for our students.” She added, “I see this as the first step in establishing a long, mutually-beneficial relationship.”
For more information about donating to the Governors State University Foundation, call (708) 534-4105.
