SIMI VALLEY, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/20/14 -- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and GE (NYSE: GE) announced today the launch of the 2015 GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program. The annual program selects up to 20 recipients to receive a $10,000 scholarship renewable for an additional three years -- up to $40,000 total per recipient.
"Ronald Reagan believed in educating and inspiring the future leaders of tomorrow," said John Heubusch, executive director, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. "The GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program, now in its fifth year, enables us to continue this tradition and keep his spirit alive among the youth of today."
Qualified applicants will be evaluated on leadership, drive, integrity, and citizenship:
- Leadership -- Scholars pursue leadership roles that have a positive impact in communities and showcase the value of lifelong learning.
- Drive -- Firm believers "that our best days are ahead," scholars have the conviction, ambition, discipline and courage to make their dreams reality.
- Integrity -- Rooted in values and ethics, scholars possess the unique combination of integrity, dependability and humility that defined President Reagan's leadership.
- Citizenship -- Scholars are driven by a sense of civic commitment and actively engage in their communities to affect positive change.
The GE Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program launched in 2011 to provide up to 200 four-year college scholarships over the next decade to deserving students who embody the vision and values personified by President Reagan. Scholarships will be applied to student tuition, room, and board while the recipient is pursuing a bachelor's degree at an accredited U.S. college or university.
GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said, "We are proud to have Ronald Reagan as a part of GE's leadership tradition. His optimism is a great example for the GE-Reagan Foundation Scholars. Four years into the program we have awarded scholarships to 77 students who demonstrate inspiring leadership and strong academic achievement."
With a total $15 million grant, GE was the presenting sponsor of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration in 2011, a celebration for the President's 100th birthday. As part of this partnership, $5 million was committed to establish this 10-year national college scholarship program. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is contributing an additional $3 million to the program.
From 1954 through 1962, Ronald Reagan worked for GE as host of a weekly television series, General Electric Theater, and traveled as a GE spokesman to 139 GE plants meeting more than 250,000 employees. As part of each episode, Reagan highlighted the work of these employees by promoting GE products like automatic dishwashers and electric can openers, products that were transforming American homes with the era's emerging technologies. Reagan punctuated each spot with GE's tag line at the time: "Progress is Our Most Important Product."
Today, GE employs more than 130,000 American workers. Consistently lauded by outside sources such as BusinessWeek and FORTUNE magazines for principles considered core to President Reagan himself, GE has been ranked among the world's best companies for leaders, as one of Fast Company's most innovative, and as one of GI Jobs magazine's top military friendly employers while consistently scoring well as one of the best places to launch a career.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the legacy of Ronald Reagan and his timeless principles of individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy, and national pride. The Foundation also supports a scholarship program for graduates of Ventura County, Calif., high schools. More information about both programs is available at www.reaganfoundation.org/scholarships.
Qualified candidates may apply online between October 13, 2014 and January 8, 2015. To be considered for this award, candidates must complete the secure online application, in its entirety, prior to the deadline. Semifinalists must be nominated by a community leader, such as a high school principal, elected official or nonprofit executive.
Recipients will be recognized at an awards ceremony in summer 2015.
For more information on application requirements and a link to the application please visit:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gereaganscholarships
About The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation:
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the legacy of Ronald Reagan and his timeless principles of individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy, and national pride. It sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center and The Air Force One Pavilion. Located in Simi Valley, California the Library houses 63 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers and over 60,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It now also serves as the final resting place of America's 40th President. www.reaganfoundation.org
About GE:
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and helping to cure the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
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