New scholarship developed by Chicago businessman

           A new scholarship at Midwestern State University is the brainstorm of an apartment management company located in Chicago that will provide one lucky graduate student the promise of a roof overhead.

            It all started when the Times Record News ran a story about Dr. Patti Hamilton, dean of Graduate Studies, and her goals of growing the graduate program. Scott McDonald of Maven Management subscribes to the TRN even though he lives in Chicago. After reading the story and showing it to his boss, McDonald was told to "do something for them" and that's what he did.

            "Because we are located so close to campus we already house a great number of MSU students.  We saw this as an opportunity to give back to the university, help them to grow the Graduate Program and, of course, to help a deserving student who may need to defray some expenses so that they can take advantage of the educational opportunities offered by the Graduate Department," stated McDonald.

            The agreement between Arbor Creek Apartments (managed by Maven Management) and Midwestern State University provides for an apartment to serve as housing for a student pursuing a graduate degree. The timeframe is for one year and can be applied for each year it is offered.  

            "Supporting a graduate student in this way is incredibly helpful. The value of it ranges from $6500-$7500 which is one of the largest scholarship values we have," Hamilton said. "In addition it's tied to financial need."

             The first recipient of the Arbor Creek Apartments Scholarship will be selected for the fall 2009 semester.