The Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) Board of Governors announced the release of $65,000 from the GIA Endowment Fund to go toward academic scholarships for 2007, according to a media release.

“We are grateful for the continuing support of our donors, without which the GIA Endowment Fund scholarships would not be possible,” said Helene Fortunoff, chairman of the board, in the statement. “Our endowed and donor-funded scholarships combined now bring the total number of scholarships available in 2007 to 56 - whose total value is more than $250,000. Because of such generosity, we are able to proudly offer next year’s students scholarships worth nearly twice the monetary amount available for scholarships in the 2006 school year.”

The funds for the scholarships are generated from interest earned on the endowment fund, valued at more than $61 million.

“The institute has worked hard to build an endowment fund capable of supporting significant scholarships for needy students to attend GIA,” said Linda Ellis Harmeling, vice president and chief advancement officer, in the release.

She added that education is the core of GIA’s mission and the growth of the scholarship program reflects the generosity of graduates and others who believe in and support GIA education.

One 2006 scholarship recipient, Dana Hunter, noted the importance of receiving the GIA scholarship in pursuing the study of gemstones as a career.

“Receiving a scholarship has not only allowed me to pursue what interests me most, but it has helped give me real direction in my professional life,” said Hunter, who received an On Campus Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) scholarship.

Hunter is one of a number of students assisted by organizations such as Kazanjian Foundation and S.H. Silver Company that direct their donations to student scholarships.

Other contributors include Mikimoto (America) Co., Ltd., which has pledged support for endowed and current use scholarships. It will offer eight students enrollment in the Distance Education Graduate Pearls program.

Also be offered now is the Michael Beaudry Scholarship, a donor-funded scholarship that will be available for 2007. Winners will receive $28,111 to cover the tuition for on campus enrollment in both the G.G. and Applied Jewelry Arts (A.J.A.) programs. Beaudry, who is president of Michael Beaudry Inc. in Los Angeles, pledged his support for five or more years.

For the 2006 academic year, GIA offered 36 scholarships valued at more than $145,000, according to Bev Hayes Ross, manager of Institute Relations.

The application period for scholarships is from June 15 to Oct. 15 and winners are announced in January.

United States citizens, permanent residents and those with non-temporary U.S. visas are eligible to apply. Applicants must be at least 17 years old, have a high school diploma or GED equivalency and either work in the jewelry industry or plan to enter it on completion of their studies.

For more information, call 760-603-4001, e-mail GIA Education at eduinfo@gia.edu, or visit www.gia.edu/education/24293/scholarships.cfm.

To learn how to contribute to or create a Scholarship Fund, contact Bev Hayes Ross at 760-603-4120

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 19th, 2006 at 1:30 am and is filed under Education, Scholarship. Tags: Education, Scholarship, Student, Study. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.