PND (4/25/2000) -- Mutual Fund Manager Offers Scholarships to United World College Graduates

Shelby M. C. Davis, the founder and chief executive officer of Davis Selected Advisers, a mutual fund and money management firm, has announced a major new scholarship program to pay tuition and related expenses for qualified students from all over the world who gain admission to one of five American colleges. The Davis United World College Scholars program will help address a critical need for foreign college students in the U.S., who typically do not qualify for government-sponsored financial-aid programs.

In an open-ended commitment beginning this fall, Davis and his family have pledged to pay 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need for all graduates of the United World College (UWC) movement who attend either Princeton, Colby, Middlebury, Wellesley, or the College of the Atlantic. The program is designed both to give foreign students the opportunity to attend college in the U.S. and to provide American students with a more international perspective on the world. The gift follows on the heels of a $45 million donation from the Davis family in 1999 that established 100 full merit scholarships for American teenagers to attend United World colleges.

"I believe that recognizing and building on international diversity through education at an influential age is central to the possibilities for global harmony in this new millennium," said Davis in a statement to the press.

The ten United World colleges are pre-university-level schools located on five continents dedicated to promoting international understanding through education. Some 2,000 students from around the world live and study together at the schools in academic programs designed to help foster peace and cooperation. This year there are 31 UWC graduates enrolled at the five schools where the Davis scholarships will be offered. The new scholarship program is expected to increase that number significantly.

"Multi-year, Multi-million-dollar Commitment Will Fund Davis UWC Scholarships, Promote Global Understanding." United World Colleges Press Release 4/7/2000.

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