CARBONDALE, Ill. — The SIU Alumni Association is awarding $75,099 to about 60 new and returning Southern Illinois University Carbondale students for the 2023 fall semester.
Funded by association members and donors throughout the year, students are receiving awards from funds administered by the association, including 18 regional and legacy scholarships, 25 textbook awards and six stipends given by the Black Alumni Group. The goal of these scholarships is to help students fill critical gaps in their financial aid packages.
Awards this year range from a few hundred dollars to $5,000. The money awarded goes to expenses, such as tuition and fees, as well as textbook rental or purchase costs. Scholarship recipients are from Illinois, Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.
“Students today have more challenges than ever in their college experiences. Finding the money to continue is often chief among them,” said Jeff Gleim, executive director of the SIU Alumni Association. “That’s why I’m so proud our alumni step up each year to support these scholarships and help us deliver on funding that means the world to these students.”
Funding for many of the scholarships awarded to students each year comes from regional chapters of the association. Chapters and groups periodically host events to fundraise for these awards, such as the St. Louis Area Chapter, which earlier this year garnered more than $4,000 during its annual trivia night. Alumni in these chapters also ask for gifts to these scholarship funds during the annual SIU Day of Giving.
“Our alumni chapters and groups are great extensions of Saluki pride across Illinois and the country, but more importantly, they play a role in introducing prospective students to the opportunities they can find at SIU,” said Cathie Mieldezis, the association’s director of constituent relations. “It’s exciting to see alumni in all these regions help new students attend SIU, and it’s critical they continue to do so.”
For more information about association scholarship funds available to current and prospective students, visit siualumni.com.
Learn more about scholarship recipients for the 2023-24 academic year
