Widener
University Receives $1.25 Million Gift from
Maguire
Foundation for Student Scholarships
Chester, Pa. – Widener University
has received a $1.25 million matching gift from The Maguire Foundation to
establish the Maguire Scholars Fund for student scholarships, the university
announced. As a matching gift, the university will contribute an equal amount
to the fund over the next five years creating a $2.5 million endowed fund.
Beginning this fall, the university
will name three to five Maguire Scholars, freshmen who will receive
scholarships in the range of $5,000 to $8,000 renewable each year for four
years providing students continue to meet qualifications.
To be eligible, students must
maintain good grades, demonstrate family need and have a commitment to
community service. They must also be graduates of Maguire Scholars
participating high schools in the Philadelphia area.
Widener University President James
T. Harris III said it is the largest scholarship gift to Taking the Lead –
the Campaign for Widener, the university’s comprehensive fundraising
campaign which ends in December.
“The Maguire Foundation and Widener
University have very similar goals – to help students achieve their academic
potential and to develop their passion for community service and civic
engagement,” Harris said. “We are very grateful to the Maguire Foundation for
their generous gift and look forward to working with them to reach our common
goals.”
James and Frances Maguire of
Chestnut Hill, Pa. are co-principles of The Maguire Foundation, a philanthropic
enterprise that primarily focuses its resources on education. Scholarships
created through gifts from the foundation help more than 750 students to attend
private elementary and secondary schools each year.
“Our family and our foundation have
always been committed to investing time, talent and treasure in the success of
others,” said James J. Maguire, the founder and chairman emeritus of insurance
industry leader Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. “Through our new
partnership with Widener University, we will be helping students to discover
their full potential for service and achievement.”
Last year, Widener was selected as a
Presidential Award Finalist for the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community
Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can
receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic
engagement. In recent years, Newsweek and Washington Monthly
ranked Widener among the top service-minded colleges and universities in the
nation. In addition, Widener was among the first universities in the nation to
be categorized as a “community engagement” institution by the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2006.
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