The UNM Presidential Scholarship Program (PSP) will host its 34th Annual Celebration Dinner on Thursday, March 25, at 5:30 p.m. The banquet brings philanthropic donors and outstanding New Mexican student recipients together for a night of celebration.
“Despite the tough economic times, the number of PSP sponsors has remained steady over the previous year,” says Erin Hagenow, manager of fundraising for UNM’s Presidential Scholarship Program.
Presidential Scholarships are offered exclusively to New Mexico’s most outstanding high school graduates—the high achievers who have excelled academically and beyond. They are awarded on academic merit and leadership skills. Renewable for up to four years, PSP scholarships cover tuition, fees and books for an award of $6,600. Now in its 34th year of educating New Mexico’s finest students, the PSP has offered tuition-free education to more than 3,125 students.
An average of 125 entering freshmen, representing a wealth of ethnic backgrounds and geographic diversity, receive Presidential Scholarships each year. There are more than 460 scholars on campus for the current 2009-2010 academic year.
Established in 1976, the Presidential Scholarship Program was based on an idea proposed by then-Dean of Admissions Robert M. Weaver, who found that many of New Mexico’s top-notch students were going out of state for college. He believed that a strong merit scholarship program would help keep high-achieving students in New Mexico.
With the support of then-President William “Bud” Davis and a kick-off dinner with the state’s business leaders, UNM raised $60,000 ($223,621 in today’s dollars) in just 30 days to start the UNM Presidential Scholarship Program.