LAU’s annual scholarship grant gets generous donation
The Western Union Foundation has made its only grant in the Middle East for the second quarter of 2013 to LAU, it has been announced.
The foundation has provided $30,000 towards LAU’s Annual Scholarship Grant program to help support needy and deserving students.
The Western Union Foundation, established by the Western Union Company in 2000, encourages community development by financially supporting education and disaster relief efforts. The grant to LAU was made as part of Western Union’s Education for Better program, which is a three-year project to fund education and vocational training.
“We are actively supporting NGOs that are committed to expanding educational opportunities for global communities,” said Patrick Gaston, president of the Western Union Foundation, in an official press release. LAU is the only university, and the only institution in the Middle East, to receive funding in this round of grants.
Thanking the Western Union Foundation for its support, LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra said the grant was an important recognition of the university’s commitment to providing quality education to gifted students. “LAU encourages all qualified students to apply, irrespective of their financial situation,” he said, noting that students can benefit from a multitude of financial aid programs, including scholarships, work-aid programs, graduate assistantships and loans. “Because of the generosity of donors like the Western Union Foundation, the university has been able to increase its financial aid budget from $15 million last year to $18.8 million this academic year,” Jabbra added.
Some 2,930 out of LAU’s 8,138 students received some form of scholarship or other financial assistance from the university during the 2011-2012 academic year, he said.
To learn more about financial aid at LAU, or to apply, visit http://aid.lau.edu.lb/