December 28, 1999

SCHOLARSHIPS TO BE AWARDED AT 2000 STATE FARM SHOW

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

For the second year, visitors to the Pennsylvania State Farm Show will have the opportunity to win a $1,000 scholarship to a State System of Higher Education university.

Five scholarships will be awarded in a drawing to be held at the conclusion of the six-day agricultural exposition, which will run from January 8-13, 2000. Visitors to the State System booth at the Farm Show will be able to sign up for the scholarship drawing.

Funding for the scholarships again is being provided by Pepsi-Cola Co. The scholarships will be good for up to 10 years and will be able to be applied to the cost of tuition and fees at any of the 14 state-owned universities.

Last year’s scholarship winners included a senior at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, a mother of five from Bradford County and a York County couple, whose daughter was in the second grade.

The State System booth will be open throughout the Farm Show. Visitors may stop by to pick up information about each of the System universities. Admissions and financial aid officers from the campuses also will be on hand to answer any questions potential students and parents may have.

WQXA-FM (105.7) will provide a live remote broadcast from the booth, which will be situated in the Main Exposition Hall (next to the Pennsylvania Dairy Association), from noon to 3 p.m. on the opening day of the event.

The Farm Show opens at 8 a.m. Jan. 8. Exhibition hall operating hours will be from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day through Jan. 12 and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 13. It is billed as the largest indoor agricultural exposition in the nation.

The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.