The African Diaspora Council will present scholarships to nine students at the Black Student Cultural Center’s UWM African/African American Virtual Connect on Thursday, Oct. 1. The event starts at 5 p.m.
The African Diaspora Council (ADC), formerly known as the African American Faculty and Staff Council, started the scholarship program in 2017 to help African American/Black students finish their college education and try to help close the college-completion gap between Black and white students at UWM.
The African Disapora Council’s faculty and staff members created and funded a scholarship to help UWM graduate more senior status African American/Black students. From 2017-18 through 2019-20, 10 students received scholarships funded by members and African American alumni contributors. For 2019-20, ADC also received scholarship funding for two more students from a corporate grant. As of May 2020, 11 of the 12 scholars have graduated.
ADC awarded scholarships to nine students for 2020-21. By May 2021, ADC will have provided approximately $38,000 in financial support for 19 graduates.
“As representatives of UWM, we wanted to demonstrate our commitment to the students we interact with on a daily basis,” said Diana Borders, assistant director of business services in the School of Education. She is co-chair of the African Diaspora Council. Brenda Cullin, office manager in the Department of Economics, is co-chair.
The scholarships go to students with a demonstrated financial need who will graduate during the upcoming academic year.
This year’s scholarship winners are:
- Tanya Edwards
- Amiah Hawthorne
- Mercy Ndon
- Ashlie Purifoy
- Amber Thompson
- Laetitia Zeba
- Ta’Quan Campbell
- Princess Davis
- Loren Nelson
