Twenty first-generation college students and future
alumni of the University of Kentucky just moved
onto campus. They aren’t the only 20 first-generation
students, They aren°t even the only freshmen. But,
these 20 will get additional help in pursuing their ed-
ucation thanks to a $1.1 million grant from the Suder _
Foundation. Each will receive a partial scholarship,   " \ .· 
academic support, and mentoring to help them com- ¤  ·° —r‘. K; A " ·
plete a bachelor’s degree. There were 292 students ap-   , ‘ V 
plying for the 20 available spots. · i .~..,.    T `
Studies indicate that students whose parents lack ij; » »  ‘
college experience have a more difficult time adjusting 4   QI
to college life than do those whose parents attended rr I` {  
college. According to one study, only 24 percent of 1
first-generation students earn bachelor°s degrees com- k A
pared to 68 percent of those whose parents went to
college. Being away from home for the first time, ,  
being on a large campus, and feelinglost and alone  l  
can all contribute to a student°s failure to thrive.    
To help address that, these Suder Scholars must _ /" S
agree to live on campus their freshman year. They will 1 _
also attend a retreat to enable them to get to know
each other and will participate in activities on campus  
and in the community.  
The university relies on private giving and alumni i'
clubs for scholarship programs like the Suder program Y T _  
to improve the quality of the students who attend X   ,y/
UK, as well as its retention rate. ,fl\  
Eric Suder, founder and president of the Suder Foun- .  4
dation, identified UK’s efforts to increase student reten-
tion and success and its status as a public land grant
university as reasons to establish its scholarship program
here. The Texas-based foundation’s objective is to “dra-
matically increase the graduation rate of selected first-
generation college bound students.”
Eric Suder, president of the Suder Foundation, spoke at the
Development Council Luncheon in September.
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www.uka|umni.net 15