Delaware State University has received a $1,050,000 grant from The Bernard Osher Foundation to permanently establish DSU’s Osher Reentry Scholarship Endowment, ensuring that scholarships will be annually available to nontraditional students.
The Bernard Osher Foundation’s grant is also the largest scholarship contribution from a private source in the university’s 123-year history. The Osher Reentry Program at DSU is the only such program in the state of Delaware benefiting nontraditional students. Nontraditional students are defined as being over the age of 25 and either resuming their higher education after an interruption of five years or beginning the steps toward a degree later in life. Osher Reentry Scholars – the scholarship recipients – can be full-time or part-time students and receive tuition scholarships of up to $5,000 each. Recipients may be awarded a scholarship again in subsequent years.
Dr. Harry L. Williams, DSU president, announced the gift at Legislative Hall during the April 10 DSU Day at the Legislature. The DSU president said The Bernard Osher Foundation and Delaware State University are in agreement when it comes to prompting adults that degree completion is within their reach.
“As a state institution, it is important for DSU to be a viable option on the undergraduate level not only for young people who just finished high school, but also for adults who never completed their academic journey or who long to begin their journey at an older age,” Williams said. “DSU has long had a diverse variety of academic offerings that address the professional dreams of nontraditional students. Thanks to the generosity of the Osher Foundation, the university now has a scholarship pathway to help the students fund what they thought could not be possible. It truly is the push so many may just need.”
The Osher Foundation began its relationship with DSU during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years, when it provided grants during each school year for scholarships for nontraditional students.
According to Dr. Mary Bitterman, president of The Bernard Osher Foundation, confidence in DSU’s administration of the first two consecutive grants led to an invitation to apply for an endowment to permanently establish the Osher Reentry Scholarship Program.
