Contact: Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--One hundred students are receiving Promise Awards at Mississippi State University this academic year through a $250,000 gift funded by Entergy Mississippi Inc.
"Mississippi State University greatly appreciates our corporate supporters like Entergy Mississippi who understand the importance of providing financial assistance to the citizens of their state," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "By funding awards for 100 deserving recipients, Entergy is extending the promise of a quality education to students who are willing to work toward a college degree."
MSU Promise is a university-designed program started in 2006. The program helps students in economically challenged situations meet tuition expenses and receive institutional support needed to ensure their continued success. The program provides financial awards to Mississippi residents who meet certain financial and academic criteria. Each year, gifts from private sources are used to fund the awards.
"Any student who dreams of a college education and has the grades to make it happen shouldn't miss out because of a lack of funding," said Haley Fisackerly, president and chief executive officer of Entergy Mississippi Inc.
Fisackerly, an MSU management alumnus, continued, "We're pleased and proud to help close the financial gap. With this gift, we hope to prepare the workforce of the future."
Promise Awards fund a student's base tuition in the fall and spring semesters, minus all federal, state, institutional and other grants or scholarships. Additionally, Promise provides academic counseling and course-progress monitoring, among other support in the campus' Learning Center, which helps students improve their academic performance.
Typically, Promise Awards assist entering MSU freshmen who have a 3.0 (out of 4.0) or better cumulative high school grade-point average. Recipients also may be Mississippi community college transfer students who have completed at least 48 credit hours and have maintained a cumulative 2.5 college GPA. In addition, recipients of Promise must be full-time MSU students who maintain a 2.5 GPA while making satisfactory progress toward an MSU degree.
The gift from Entergy Mississippi is part of the company's Destination Education initiative, which seeks to improve educational opportunities for Mississippians from early childhood through higher learning.
Entergy Mississippi Inc. provides electricity to more than 435,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corp., an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
For complete details on MSU's Promise Program, visit www.sfa.msstate.edu/promise/.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see www.msstate.edu/.