Richmond, Ind. – Indiana University East is pleased to announce its third student to receive the Indiana University Presidential Scholar award chosen from the Richmond campus. IU awarded the scholarship to 68 students to attend the university and its regional campuses as members of the class of Adam W. Herbert Presidential Scholars. From IU East, Kayla Bush of Winchester recently received the scholarship. Bush attended Winchester Community High School.

Kayla is studying for her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and accounting.

Now in its third year, this scholarship, which was previously known as the Hoosier Presidential Scholarship, was renamed by the IU Board of Trustees at its May meeting to honor IU President Emeritus Adam W. Herbert, who initiated the program. The program is funded by a $10 million grant from the Lilly Foundation, with the goal of placing more of Indiana’s top high school students at IU campuses and the hope that they might be more inclined to stay in Indiana after they graduate.
These students receive renewable scholarships ranging from $6,000 to $12,000 a year for four years, plus a new laptop computer. In their junior or senior year, the students also will receive an additional $1,000 award toward the cost of a semester of international study.

Criteria for selection include class rank, grade point average, SAT I or ACT test scores and strength of high school curriculum. Also considered are each student’s record of activities and leadership positions, record of community service, personal statement, and a recommendation from a high school teacher, guidance counselor or community member. Indiana residency is required and preference is given to National Merit Scholarship qualifiers.

This year’s Herbert Presidential Scholarship freshman class has an average grade point average exceeding 4.0, due to AP and honors classes, and the average SAT composite score was 1348. Nearly every scholar ranked in the top 5 percent of his or her high school class. Minority students comprise one third of the class.

Unlike IU’s other competitive scholarship programs, such as the Wells and Kelley Scholars, eligibility for Herbert Presidential Scholarships is limited to Indiana residents.

The investment provides roughly $500,000 a year in interest to support the program. From this fund, scholarship grants ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 are awarded to each participant. The student’s campus must match the award on a two-for-one basis, resulting in a total value of $6,000 to $12,000 per student. As a result, each award is campus-specific and non-transferable to another IU campus. Each campus nominates students for the award from its applicant pool.

High school seniors who are interested in competing for next year’s Herbert Presidential Scholarships should be sure their enrollment application is completed and turned in this fall. Final nominations from IU campuses for the 2008 call of Herbert Presidential Scholars are due on Jan. 15 with letters from the president sent by the first of February.