The SBC Foundation today presented the Rogers State University Foundation the final payment of a $50,000 grant that will be used to establish a scholarship fund for business information technology students.
Rhonda Sellers, SBC external affairs manager, presented a $25,000 check to RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley. The scholarship program is being established in the School of Business and Technology. Scholarships will be awarded to students majoring in business information technology.
“SBC is proud to support RSU in its continuing efforts to provide an exciting forum for high-quality higher education,” Sellers said. “Few dollars are better spent than those that are invested in the education of young Oklahomans. Our state will benefit immensely as more Oklahomans earn college degrees and help business and industry prosper and grow.”
The university plans to award the first scholarships from the grant in the fall of 2004.
The SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC Communications, Inc. The SBC Foundation supports efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those with an emphasis on education and technology and those that benefit underserved populations. SBC Foundation-backed programs are designed to increase access to information technologies, broaden technology training and professional skills development and effectively integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic development. The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Foundation Center have consistently ranked the SBC Foundation among the nation’s top five corporate foundations. In 2002, the SBC Foundation launched SBC Excelerator, a multi-million dollar competitive grants program that funds non-profit organizations in their efforts to digitally connect communities.
SBC Communications Inc. is one of the world’s leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through its networks, SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services, as well as directory advertising and publishing. A Fortune 30 company, SBC is America’s leading provider of high-speed DSL Internet access services and one of the nation’s leading Internet service providers. SBC companies currently serve 55 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC companies own 60 percent of American’s second-largest wireless company, Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 23 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC companies have telecommunications investments in 26 countries.