Mathematics, Engineering and Science Program Receives Almost $275,000 in Scholarship Money
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2001
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Paul Villegas, MESA Center Director
530-898-4017
Mathematics, Engineering and Science Program Receives Almost $275,000 in Scholarship Money
The California State University, Chico Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Program has received $274,938 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for scholarships to engineering/math and computer science students.
Forty students will receive $3,125 a year for two years. Paul Villegas, director of the MESA program, said, “This is especially important to these students in technical fields that often demand an extra year of work in order to graduate. Financial Aid designed for four-year programs leaves students in their last few years scrambling to support themselves and to continue with their challenging academic programs.”
MESA is currently celebrating 30 years of service. The program serves over 22,000 California students. It is one of the oldest and most successful college-preparation programs in the country for educationally disadvantaged students. Recently, California MESA received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
This is the second year of scholarships awarded from NSF as a result of a proposal Villegas wrote. “The size of this year’s award is noteworthy. I believe it is the largest scholarship program in the university-certainly of its kind,” he said.
For more information on the MESA program, contact Villegas at 530-898-4017.
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