Posted October 2, 2013

The W.W. Smith Charitable Trust has awarded Neumann University a one-year grant of $56,000 to fund undergraduate student scholarships in 2013-14.

The grant is specifically targeted to benefit full-time undergraduates, in good academic standing, with a grade point average of at least 2.5 and whose financial needs cannot be met by other aid programs. In addition, students must have a permanent home residency in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery or Philadelphia counties, or in the city of Camden, N.J.

Because the trust stipulates a minimum award of $2,000 and a maximum of $5,000 per year, the grant will assist between 12 and 28 Neumann University undergraduate students this academic year.

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In the last 35 years, the trust has assisted more than 1,000 Philadelphia-area students annually, including scholarship grants of $1,268,000 for Neumann students.

“Many of our students are the first generation in their families to attend college,” said Dr. Rosalie Mirenda, president of the university. “This generous gift from the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust will allow a good number of them to move significantly closer to a college degree, and a solid economic and socially responsible future.”

Approximately 95 percent of undergraduate students at Neumann University receive some form of financial aid, including federal grants, student loans and private scholarships. The university has a total enrollment of approximately 2,100 full-time undergraduates and offers bachelor’s degrees in arts and sciences, business, education, and nursing.

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation established by William Wikoff Smith, who died in 1976. Smith was president and chairman of the board of Kewanee Oil Co.  The Smith Trust is one of the largest private foundations in Philadelphia, awarding approximately $5 million annually to support medical research, college scholarships and social services for children and the elderly.

For more information about Neumann, visit www.neumann.edu.