As West Virginia University students returned to campus for the spring semester, more than 400 did so with scholarships from the WVU Alumni Association’s Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund.

The Alumni Association now will be able to provide additional financial resources to WVU students because of the thoughtful planning and generosity of a Pennsylvania couple.

The Fund is the beneficiary of a $250,000 gift from the Estate of Betty Phillips of DuBois, Pa. Ms. Dubois, who passed away in 2013, never attended WVU, but her husband, the late Bernard Phillips, graduated from the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources in 1950.

“What a wonderful legacy Bernard and Betty leave to West Virginia University,” said Stephen L. Douglas, president & CEO, WVU Alumni Association. “The LPEF is the oldest scholarship on campus, funded entirely by unsolicited donations. This gift will allow us to provide additional opportunities for scholarships and academic activities to West Virginia students.”

The Phillips estate gift brings the Fund’s assets to nearly $13 million.

Each year, approximately $450,000 is distributed to students through the Fund. Since its inception in 1937, the Fund has provided more than $8 million in academic support to nearly 4,500 deserving West Virginia students attending WVU.

To qualify for a scholarship, students must be West Virginia residents, have a minimum grade point average of 2.75, and demonstrate financial need, leadership and good citizenship proven through their extracurricular activities. For more information, visit: http://alumni.wvu.edu/awards/lpe.

-WVU-

tec/1/23/14

CONTACT: Tara Curtis, WVU Alumni Association
304-293-0972, tara.curtis@mail.wvu.edu

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