January 10, 2011

Engineering scholarship applications due Jan. 15

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill -- A scholarship aimed at tomorrow’s engineering leaders is again available at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, thanks to the generous support of an alumnus and further support from the federal government.

SIUC will award up to 10 scholarships through its Leadership Development Program in Engineering and Technology. The program, based in the University’s College of Engineering, is funded by a nearly $600,000 National Science Foundation grant and donations from Dick Blaudow, an SIUC engineering alumnus and CEO of Advanced Technology Services.

Blaudow, along with his wife, Brigitte, established the Blaudow/ATS Leadership Development Program in 2006. NSF in 2009 provided a grant to build on the early success of the program, which targets top students who show leadership potential and are transferring into the SIUC College of Engineering.

The deadline for applications this year is Jan. 15. Students selected for the program will receive up to $18,000 in scholarship funds toward tuition and fees and a three-month paid internship, among other benefits.

To be eligible, students applying must have completed at least 48 hours at community college, demonstrated leadership, have industrial or military experience, have a strong academic performance record and show financial need. University officials will select awardees based on their scholarship and leadership potential.

The scholarships will pay for much of the budding engineers’ junior and senior years of undergraduate work SIUC. Recipients will receive leadership training, serve in leadership roles in affiliated student organizations and will have a summer internship opportunity.

Community colleges participating in the program include John A. Logan College, Frontier Community College, Kaskaskia College, Lewis and Clark Community College, Lincoln Trail College, Olney Central College, Rend Lake College, Shawnee College, Southeastern Illinois College, Southwester Illinois College and Wabash Valley College.