UTRGV unveils one-of-a-kind Luminary Scholars program
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – OCT. 12, 2021 – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley today announced a one-of-a-kind, merit-based scholarship program – the Luminary Scholarship – for undergraduate students.
The new scholarship program is made possible thanks to the historic $40 million gift to UTRGV this summer from philanthropists MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett which is meant to enhance the university’s mission of improving student success and expanding educational opportunities.
UTRGV President Guy Bailey said the highly competitive scholarship will allow UTRGV to retain and attract the best and brightest students in the Valley and beyond.
"We are so grateful to MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett for their landmark gift to UTRGV that helped us create this unique scholarship program," Bailey said. "This scholarship will go a long way in helping many students, their families and the Rio Grande Valley community."
The scholarship program will cover the following:
- Full tuition and fees for all four undergraduate years.
- University housing for the first two academic years of college.
- Full tuition and fees for up to four years for the professional or undergraduate program to which the student was provisionally admitted, including the UTRGV School of Medicine and the School of Podiatry.
In addition, the scholarship recipients, or Luminary Scholars, as they have been dubbed, will sign a pledge to work in the Valley for each year beyond their undergraduate education that is funded. That means a three-year graduate or professional program would require a three-year commitment to work in the Valley post-graduation.
UTRGV Executive Vice President and Provost Janna Arney said the Luminary Scholars program is another example of the university’s commitment to student success.
"Our ultimate goal is for students to graduate debt free or with minimal debt from college, as well as from graduate school,” Arney said. “The only thing we ask in return of our Luminary Scholars is, just as we have made an investment in you, we ask you to make that same investment and commitment to the Rio Grande Valley."
To learn more about the Luminary Scholarship Program, visit utrgv.edu/luminary.
FOR MEDIA: Photos and B-roll of press conference available upon request. Contact Letty.Fernandez@UTRGV.edu.