Incoming freshmen, interested in becoming campus leaders, will now have more scholarship opportunities.
National City Bank presented a $100,000 endowment check to University President Sidney Ribeau and his President’s Leadership Academy yesterday morning.
“This program would not be possible if not for people who believe in us like National City Bank,” Ribeau said at yesterday’s press conference announcing the endowment. “This support gives us the opportunity to provide to our students a varied education.”
The PLA is a four-year program designed to teach students leadership skills through having them do service in the community and take on leadership roles on campus. Only incoming freshmen with a 2.5 GPA are eligible to apply for the program. The organization has been in existence since 1997.
“It’s based on the fact that we knew in our hearts there was untapped potential at Bowling Green State University and that there were students who had the potential to lead and to contribute to society,” Ribeau said.
Money from the endowment will go toward future scholarships for students in the program, including a National City Scholarship which will provide full tuition and fees for one student in the academy yearly.
“For the next 20 years there will be money for scholarships,” Ribeau said.
According to Jay Hall, president and CEO of National City Bank’s Northwest Region, his corporation made the donation to the program in order to become more involved with the community.
“Being a good corporate citizen is a big part of National City’s culture,” Hall said. “We have a number of employees that are Bowling Green graduates and we wanted to branch out and feel a part of the community.”
One aspect that Ribeau said he would like to see PLA expand upon in the future is bringing more science majors to the University through the organization’s high school mentoring program.
“One of the main things that is a real challenge at colleges and universities is that there are not enough men and women going into science,” he said.
This may not be the last time National City Bank gives money to the University, Hall said.
“We want to see how this program does,” he said. “We want to stay involved with the University.”
