Since 2006, the VFCCE has awarded over $350,000 in scholarships and seeks to provide financial assistance to every deserving Virginian who dreams of attaining a higher education. With awards ranging from $500 to $5000, the scholarship program continues to grow and help students across the state enroll in community college and pursue academic and career success.
The Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship Program was inaugurated in 2006 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Virginia Community College System. The program awards scholarships to first-time college students who plan to attend one of Virginia's 23 community colleges. The scholarships provide access to higher education for bright, hard-working young men and women with a commitment to leadership who would otherwise not have a chance to attend college. These merit-based scholarships are designed to be enduring legacies that will make the community college experience available to generations of deserving students.
The Curtis & Patricia Dougans Scholarship was established in memory of the late Curtis Dougans, a Page county resident, to provide financial assistance to a student who otherwise could not afford to attend college. The scholarship is available to students who are enrolled or accepted in Lord Fairfax Community College and plan to attend Luray-Page County Center. Students must have a minimum grade point average of 2.5. Deadline to apply is November 1, 2008.
The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association is committed to educating a qualified nursing workforce by awarding a scholarship every two years to students at a Virginia community college. The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association Scholarship is established with the VFCCE to provide financial assistance to students admitted to a nursing program who have demonstrated ability and commitment to enter the practice of nursing. Students who wish to receive the scholarship must have completed prerequisite courses with at least a 3.0 grade point average and demonstrated success in their first clinical course.
The Kathy Camper Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship is established to provide financial assistance to students in information technology or childhood education fields. The scholarship honors a long-time information technology staff member with Virginia's Community Colleges.
In 2007, a small group of Virginians came together to create an endowment honoring former Governor Gerald Baliles' commitment to and on-going support of community colleges by endowing a scholarship in his name. They surprised him by announcing the scholarship during the 2007 Chancellor's Award for Leadership in Philanthropy Program, where Governor Baliles was a keynote speaker. The endowment spearheaded by those friends continues to grow, and provides two scholarships each fall. The program is closed for the 2008 academic year, but scholarship applications will be available again in early 2009.