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October 15, 2002

Alpha Chi Omega endows art scholarship

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue University Alpha Chi Omega chapter will endow a $1,000 scholarship to a student whose college career has been touched by the arts.

The announcement was made Monday (10/14) night at Alpha Chi Omega's Founders Day Dinner. The annual Alpha Chi Omega Arts Scholarship will be awarded to a Purdue student who participates in the arts, said Mary Ford, a 1959 Purdue graduate in home economics and Alpha Chi Omega member.

"This award is not restricted to arts majors. It is meant to recognize that participation in the arts helps build a more well-rounded individual," said Ford, a West Lafayette resident. "Therefore, the ideal winner might be a student in engineering, education or science who sings in Purdue Musical Organizations, or is a member of Purdue bands, jazz groups or orchestra. The student also might paint as a hobby or participate in one of the arts groups of the Black Cultural Center."

The first scholarship will be awarded at the universitywide honors convocation this spring. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and previous semester index of 2.5 are eligible to apply. The scholarship will be awarded for use the following fall. An Alpha Chi Omega recognition plaque with the names of the annual winners will be hung in the new Creative Arts Building, which is under construction on the south side of campus at Marsteller and Wood streets.

Alpha Chi Omega was founded on Oct. 15, 1885, at Depauw University in Greencastle, Ind., by seven women from the school of music. Today, the women's fraternity is found on more than 132 campuses. Purdue's chapter was chartered in April 26, 1918, and it is the 25th oldest chapter. In addition to celebrating the 118th anniversary of its founding, the women of the chapter are focusing on the national Support for Victims of Domestic Violence campaign by giving time and needed items to the local women's shelter.

CONTACT: Reid Ricciardi, director of development for student services, (765) 496-2406, rricciardi@purdue.edu; Mary Ford, (765) 463-2037, fredmaryford160@insightbb.com.

Writer: Amy Patterson-Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Related Web sites:
National Alpha Chi Omega


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