GlaxoSmithKline Donates $100,000 To VGCC For Technology Scholarships

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has awarded $100,000 to Vance-Granville Community College to establish endowed scholarships at the school.

Vance-Granville was one of four community colleges receiving the grants in ceremonies in Rocky Mount on May 23. Johnston Community College, Nash Community College and Wake Technical Community College were the other recipients.

“Education continues to be a very important area for GSK,” said Mary Linda Andrews, Director, Community Partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline, as she presented giant checks to representatives of the four community colleges.

“We are pleased to see the accomplishments being made at these institutions, and we are happy to make this contribution in hopes that some very deserving students will be able to fulfill their dreams,” Andrews said.

 

To be eligible for the GSK scholarships,students must be enrolled in electronics technology, biotechnology, computer engineering technology, industrial pharmaceutical technology or industrial systems technology programs, or recipients may be pursuing an associate’s degree in a science or engineering-related curriculum. Recipients will be selected based on academic achievement, with consideration to financial need.

“The United States has slipped to 18th globally in the sciences, and we hope these scholarships will help reverse that,” Andrews said.

“Community colleges change lives by giving adults a sound education and preparing them to enter the workforce with requisite skills, especially in the technology and biosciences industry,” President H. Martin Lancaster of the North Carolina Community College System said at the ceremonies.

“We are proud partners with industry in North Carolina,” Lancaster added. ” GlaxoSmithKline is an excellent partner that is dedicated to education. This endowment funding will help students prepare for the future.”

Andrews praised community colleges for the quality education students receive, noting the high performance of college transfer students when they arrive at four-year institutions. “GSK thanks you for all the value you bring, and will continue to bring, to our state,” she said.

Marsha Nelson, Vice President of Instruction and Student Services at VGCC, accepted the GSK gift for the college.

The $100,000 award will be added to the more than $5 million Endowment Fund and Scholarship Program at Vance-Granville Community College. Interest on this fund provides scholarships to about 300 full-time students and another 200 part-time students each year.