BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana State University has received $6 million to expand a scholarship program for engineering students who are working their way through school, a news release said.
The gift from the late William Alfred “Bill” Brookshire’s family means the program he founded can help more than 300 students a year for the next three years, Sara Whittaker, spokeswoman for the LSU Foundation, said Tuesday.
She said more than 1,300 juniors and seniors have received S&B Engineers and Constructors Scholarships since the program began in 2010.
It helps students who keep up at least a 2.5 grade point average while putting in at least 30 hours a week of combined coursework and employment, according to a news release.
“Our father’s vision and legacy are honored each and every year by the exemplary hard work and perseverance of the Brookshire Scholars,” the Brookshire family said in the news release.
Years before his death in 2017, Brookshire told LSU: “I think the whole thrust of my giving at the University of Houston, LSU, my high school and the community college was to support students working their way through school. I want to help people who are helping themselves.”
The College of Engineering currently has 1,008 third-year and 1,572 fourth-year students enrolled, Whittaker said.
The donation is one of the largest given for LSU scholarships and is the largest such gift made for immediate use, the university said.
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