It's that time of year again! The Eighth Annual Chancellor's Scholarship Dinner will be held at Avalon Manor, 3550 East U.S. Highway 30 in Merrillville, on October 1, 2009. The dinner will recognize the eight winners of the 2009 Chancellor's Scholarship. Two winners were selected from each of the four campuses in the Northwest region. They are:
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Tuyen Biagi (Nursing) and
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Jennifer Znika (Business Administration) from the Valparaiso campus;
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Dawn Conner (Business Administration) and
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Sameerah Sharif Moore (Business Administration) from the East Chicago De La Garza Campus;
- Paul Covello (Computer Information Systems) and
- Cathy Clardy (Business Management) from the Gary campus;
- Stacy Grider (Liberal Arts) and
- Alfreda Nelson (Business Management) from the Michigan City campus.
Due to the success of last year's dinner recipients were awarded $2,000 in scholarship money compared to $1,500 the previous years.
In addition to the scholarship recipients the awardees for the Community Linkage and Benefactor of the Year awards will also be honored. Tom Keilman, this year’s Community Linkage Award recipient, was born in East Chicago and raised in Hammond. As the Director of Public Affairs for BP at the Whiting refinery, Mr. Keilman turned to Ivy Tech Community College Northwest to help recruit and train future highly skilled employees in the Process Operations program. As a result of the partnership, BP has donated more than $130,000 for the program. “We are proud to be involved with this project. Certainly having this program in our area will help BP, as well as other area employers, build up and renew the region’s workforce,” commented Mr. Keilman. He has served in local government in Lake County including being the former Town Manager of Merrillville; the Lake County Commissioner’s Drainage Advisory Board; the Lake County Economic Development Commission and was elected two terms serving on the Merrillville Conservancy District. Currently, he is Chairman of the Crown Point Stormwater Board. He has served as BP and business community liaison on the Lake County Good Government Initiative.
Ivy Tech will also honor its Benefactor of the Year, Fred Rendina. Upon graduation from college, he became involved with the Gary Symphony Orchestra, where he served on the board of directors. He assisted the symphony in fundraising and joined others in developing the Opera Ball, the Young Artist Competition, and the season ticket concept. He continues to be a financial supporter of the Symphony.
His interest in theatre led to the development of the Gary Music Theatre, an outgrowth of the Gary Players, where he acted and directed over fifteen major productions of Broadway Hits. Gary Music Theatre was to become the music theater that served all of Northwest Indiana. One of the greatest joys of his life is that many of the young people involved in the productions went on to become professionals in the theatre and one especially successful former student teaches at the Julliard School of Drama.
During the last four years Mr. Rendina has mentored young men for new career paths at the community college. He referred them to Ivy Tech Community College Northwest and they have enrolled in classes. He is also on a committee to plan a fundraiser to promote the arts in the new Ivy Tech Valparaiso campus auditorium.
Last year to honor the memory of his good friend Robert M. McAllister, he established at Ivy Tech Community College Northwest the Robert M. McAllister Scholarship Endowment for $12,500 and the Robert M. McAllister Chancellor’s Scholarship Award for $12,000. Also, a seat in the new Valparaiso Campus auditorium of Ivy Tech Community College was dedicated for $500.00 to honor his friend. This year he has pledged $2500 to support the Chancellor’s Scholarship awards.
The Chancellor’s Scholarship is open to all degree-seeking Ivy Tech Northwest students with 15 hours completed in a degree program with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75. All candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States and must be enrolled at Ivy Tech Northwest and live in one of the seven counties serviced by the Ivy Tech Northwest region. For tickets to this event please contact Rosa Rodriguez, 219-981-4419.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public post-secondary institution and the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system with more than 130,000 students enrolled annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.