from underrepresented areas
A program that brings students from historically underrepresented U.S. communities to the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) has been awarded another $100,000 two-year grant by the GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company.
This is the third consecutive year that the GE Foundation has funded the Environmental Scholars Program.
The goal of the program is to increase the number of applicants and matriculating master's students from communities encompassing urban and rural poor and ethnic and racial groups including Native Americans. When matched with Yale and other funding sources, up to five students will have full financial support for both years of their master's program.
"The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is a recognized center of excellence on environmental and natural resources issues. It develops the leaders needed to manage these important issues for the years ahead," says Steve Ramsey, GE vice president for environmental programs. "This GE Foundation grant will help attract more diverse talent into the program and ultimately into industry and the nonprofit sector."
The current GE Foundation Scholars are first-year students Stephanie Horn of Lower Peach Tree, Alabama; Christopher Hudak of New Sharon, Maine; and Evelyn Silva of Flushing, New York. Second-year students are Drena Howard of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Lisa Botero of Orlando, Florida, both master's candidates in environmental management; and Jacqueline Guzman of Houston, Texas, a candidate for a master's degree in environmental science.
"The scholarship is very important to me. Without it I would not be studying at Yale," says Howard, who will pursue a career in environmental health education after she graduates in 2005.
Botero added: "The GE scholarship is a priceless benefit to me and I am grateful to those who honored me as a recipient. The scholarship has granted me a certain degree of independence by lessening the financial burden and related stresses associated with earning a master's degree, which will be the first of its kind earned by anyone in my family since coming to this country."
F&ES Dean James Gustave Speth says the school's success relies on its ability to attract the best and brightest students with high leadership potential.
"While the school has an outstanding track record in preparing students to become environmental leaders, it has been less successful in attracting students from underrepresented communities in the United States. Rising tuition costs, coupled with modest permanent sources of scholarship funding for master's students, complicate the effort," he says. "The GE Foundation's generous grant will help us achieve the school's strategic goal of educating a new, more diverse generation of environmental professionals."
The cost of tuition is $23,850 annually to obtain a two-year master's degree in environmental management, environmental science, forestry or forest science. F&ES provides $2.1 million a year in scholarship aid to its 261 master's students, 26% of whom come from outside the United States. Seventy-five percent of master's students receive grants or loans. Admission to F&ES master's programs is not based on financial need.
The GE Foundation works to strengthen educational access, equity and quality for disadvantaged youth, and supports GE employee and retiree giving and involvement in GE communities around the world. In 2003 GE contributed $140 million to community and educational programs, including $50 million from the GE Foundation. For information, visit www.gefoundation.com.
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