Lexington, KY - Centre College has received a gift of $250 million that will be used for scholarships to encourage entrepreneurship.
The gift came in the form of stock in Universal Computer Systems Holding, Inc. (Reynolds and Reynolds) from the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust to establish the Brockman Scholars Program in Leadership and Entrepreneurship.
Forty new Brockman Scholarships will be funded each year beginning in the fall of 2014 for students majoring in the natural sciences, computational sciences, and economics, creating the nation’s premier scholarship program that will include a total of 160 students by 2017.
Selected on the basis of merit, Brockman Scholars will receive “full-ride-plus” scholarships that provide tuition, room and board, and fees, along with funds to support study abroad experiences and summer research and internship opportunities.
The gift by the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust is the largest outright gift ever to a liberal arts college. It is also the lead gift for Centre’s $500 million Third Century Campaign, which will conclude in advance of the College’s bicentennial celebration on January 21, 2019.
“This magnificent gift establishing the Brockman Scholars Program marks a fundamental transformation in Centre College’s ability to support students whose hard work, character, and intellect have demonstrated their potential for leadership,” said Centre President John A. Roush.
“The Brockman Scholars Program will empower talented young women and men with the knowledge, creativity and integrity necessary to address them,” Roush said.
In a release the school states a variety of factors will be considered in the process to select students for the scholarships, but a commitment to hard work and the belief that effort brings reward will be determining factors in choosing Brockman Scholars.
This commitment to hard work was foremost among the attributes A. Eugene Brockman had in mind to support when he created his charitable trust in 1981.
“The A. Eugene Brockman Trust chose to make this gift and establish this program at Centre College for several reasons,” said Evatt Tamine, trustee of the Brockman Trust.
“First, Mr. Brockman saw firsthand the tremendous impact that Centre had on his son, Bob, whose own drive and ambition were empowered by his experience as a Centre student. Also the Trust believes that preparation for leadership and service in a rapidly changing world best takes place with the firm intellectual, moral, and social grounding that young people receive especially well at Centre,” Tamine said in a release from the school.
“The Trust firmly believes that the Brockman Scholars Program will become a model for other programs, further demonstrating Centre’s leadership position among American liberal arts colleges.”
Tamine worked closely with Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations at Centre and a scholar of philanthropy, to structure the gift and its purpose.
“The vision for this gift,” Trollinger said, “is to enable Centre to attract highly qualified students who become ‘job creators’ as they devote entrepreneurial thinking to society’s needs, thereby stimulating economic growth.”
Brockman Scholars may pursue a variety of majors at Centre, including behavioral neuroscience, biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, chemistry, chemical physics, computer science, economics, financial economics, mathematics, physics and psychology.