The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust recently welcomed its fourth cohort of Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars to the new academic year. Trustee Chairman Frank E. Russell welcomed the Scholars to celebratory luncheons in Phoenix and Indianapolis, where he shared information about the Trust's grantmaking activities.

Trustee Nancy M. Russell presented the Scholars with leather book/computer backpacks, while Trustee Carol Peden Schatt, niece of Nina Mason Pulliam, shared personal insights about her aunt and introduced a video that showcased Mrs. Pulliam's life. Trust President and CEO Harriet M. Ivey gave the audience additional background about the Scholars program. The Trust was also happy to have school advisors and their staffs at the events.

Thirty-one women and nine men comprise the fourth cohort of Nina Scholars: five students at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 12 students at Ivy Tech State College, Central Indiana Campus, 15 students at Maricopa Community Colleges in metropolitan Phoenix and eight students at Arizona State University. There are currently more than 100 women and men participating in the Nina Scholars program.

"This is a significant year for the Nina Scholars program," said Ivey. "It being our fourth year, we now have Nina Scholars represented in every class of the undergraduate system, from freshmen to seniors. We are particularly pleased with the comprehensive scholar-to-scholar peer support system our students provide each other."

The 2004 cohort of Nina Scholars includes students who have faced a myriad of challenges. Twenty-three Scholars are adults with dependents, 11 Scholars are between 18 and 25 and were raised in the child welfare system, and six Scholars have physical disabilities. One 30-year-old Scholar has physical disabilities and children.

"The Nina Scholars program is an exciting dimension for the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. A primary giving focus for the Trust is helping people in need. The Nina Scholars program takes our mission to another level," said Mr. Russell.

"Education was very important to Nina Mason Pulliam. Nina saw education as a crucial tool to self-sufficiency and personal fulfillment. The Trustees and the Trust staff celebrate this year's scholarship recipients and are so proud of our Nina Scholars," added Mrs. Russell.

The Nina Scholars program is unique in the United States as it seeks to assist nontraditional students in three categories: adult students (minimum age of 25) with dependents who have never attended college or who have had their education interrupted years earlier, physically disabled traditional college-age or older students, and young adults who were raised in the child welfare system and must be responsible for their own financial support as of age 18.

Support for the Nina Scholars includes full resident tuition, book expenses and student fees. In addition, an annual living allowance of $2,500 may be applied to expenses such as housing, transportation, child care and health insurance.

"This signature program for the Trust would have made my aunt so very proud," said Ms. Schatt. "Education was everything to Nina. Throughout her life she supported scholarships for hundreds of young people, through formal newspaper programs, individually for newspaper employees' children and privately with individual families she knew. She believed that education allowed people to reach their dreams."