A prominent Seymour couple has endowed a new $15,000 scholarship fund to help first-generation college students from Jackson County earn degrees at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC).
Gerald L. and Sarah C. Armstrong will donate $3,000 each year for five years beginning in 2011. The first scholarship from the endowment will be made in 2016. The scholarship will be renewable each year for up to four years, provided the student recipient maintains a good grade point average.
Preference for the scholarship will go to deserving applicants who live in Jackson County and are the first in their immediate families to attend college.
“While serving as a member of the IUPUC Advisory Board, I became aware of the struggles faced by many first-generation college students. Sarah and I hope this scholarship can help them overcome those issues and achieve their educational goals,” explained Gerald Armstrong.
A growing number of IUPUC students live in Jackson County. In 2011, more than 200 traditional and nontraditional students from Seymour, Brownstown, Crothersville, Medora, and Freetown were enrolled in IUPUC courses. The university offers general education courses at the Jackson County Learning Center each semester, which eliminates the need for students to drive to Columbus for those courses.
“Because of supporters like the Armstrongs, future Jackson County residents will have the opportunity to earn nursing, engineering, business, and other Indiana University and Purdue University degrees in Columbus,” Wafa said. “On behalf of all IUPUC students, we thank them.”
Mr. Armstrong, who served as president and CEO of Seymour National Bank from 1972 to 1992, is an active member of Seymour business and civic groups. Past president of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation, he is a member of the Schneck Medical Center Foundation’s finance committee, the Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson County United Way, Seymour Lions Club, and the Boys and Girls Club of Seymour.
A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management, Armstrong attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin School of Banking. He retired from Indiana Bank & Trust as executive vice president in 2003. The Armstrongs have four grown children.
For more information about IUPUC, please visit www.iupuc.edu, e-mail admissions@iupuc.edu, or call 812.348.7390.