Betty G. Reader estate pledges $600,000 to establish scholarship fund at FIU

FIU has received a $600,000 estate commitment to establish the Betty G. Reader Scholarship Fund for students who have demonstrated exemplary service to and leadership in the Jewish community.

The first FIU scholarship to recognize students for their service to the Jewish community, the fund will honor Reader’s legacy and dedication to the well-being of the greater Jewish community. Recipients will be known as Betty G. Reader Scholars and will have the opportunity to receive up to a four-year scholarship, up to $4,000 per semester, beginning in the Fall 2011 semester. As many as 12 incoming freshmen will be selected each year to receive scholarships.

To qualify for the scholarship, students must be graduates of high schools in Miami-Dade or Broward County who have unmet financial need and who intend to pursue a professional degree, which includes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math), business, education, accounting, journalism, management, or nursing degrees. Applications for this year’s scholarship are due Friday, November 4 by 5 p.m. To apply or for more information on the scholarship, applicants can visit http://scholarships.fiu.edu.

“The Betty G. Reader Scholarship Fund will have a lasting impact on FIU and our  community,” said FIU Dean of Undergraduate Education Doug Robertson. “This program will change the lives of many young persons who have demonstrated their potential for success through exemplary academic achievement, leadership, and citizenship.”

In celebration of the gift, the “Betty G. Reader Scholarships Book of Life” will be created and permanently displayed at the Glenn Hubert Library on the FIU Biscayne Bay Campus. Recipients will have the opportunity to inscribe the book at an annual signing ceremony, to be attended by members of the FIU community and trustees of Reader’s estate.

Reader was an active volunteer and a philanthropist, supporting organizations such as American Friends of Hebrew University, Jewish Home for the Aged, Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Hadassah, Women’s American ORT, American Cancer Society, Brandeis University, American Technion Society, Miami Jewish Home and Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Center of Miami Beach. In celebration of her volunteerism, Reader received many awards including The Hebrew University Award and the Diamond Medal from Hadassah.

For more information on the scholarships, please contact Laura Dominguez at 305-348-1924 or email ldomingu@fiu.edu.

Media Contact: Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234.