Contact:

Michael Padilla, 277-1816

April 20, 2001

UNM PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS FROM SOCORRO ANNOUNCED

The University of New Mexico Presidential Scholarship Program (PSP) honored current recipients and sponsors at its 25th anniversary dinner Wednesday, April 11, 6:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Old Town, Alvarado Ballroom in Albuquerque.

Presidential Scholarships are offered exclusively to New Mexico's outstanding high school graduates. The scholarships are awarded on academic merit and leadership skills and renewable for up to four years, these scholarship go above and beyond the cost of tuition - paying for textbooks and other fees. In its twenty-fourth year of educating New Mexico's finest students, the PSP has offered tuition-free education through more than 2,250 scholarships, made possible by nearly $8 million in private support.

Approximately 125 entering freshmen, representing a wealth of ethnic backgrounds from all across the state, receive the scholarships each year. There are about 450 scholars on campus this year, approximately ten times the numbers of similar scholarships offered by other universities.

The program was established in 1976, based on idea proposed by then-Dean of Admissions Robert M. Weaver, who found that many top-notch students were going out of state to school. A strong merit scholarship program, he thought, would keep them in New Mexico. Weaver took his idea to then-UNM president William E. "Bud" Davis, who offered his support for the program. Robert G. Lalicker, who was Director of Development, took on the task of raising money to pay for the scholarships. Between a kick-off dinner with the state's business leaders and other solicitations, he raised the private funding needed to start the program, $60,000, in a mere 30 days.

The following are recipients of the Presidential Scholarship Program from Socorro High School:

The University of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981