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St. Olaf joins Davis Scholars Program

By Kari VanDerVeen
August 20, 2008

St. Olaf College has been chosen to join a select group of colleges and universities that participate in the Davis United World College Scholars Program, which aims to foster global awareness by increasing the number of international students who study in the United States.

The Davis Scholars Program provides scholarships to students who have completed their last two years of high school at a group of international schools called United World Colleges. Students from those schools who gain acceptance into any of the American colleges and universities supported by the Davis Scholars Program -- a list that now includes St. Olaf -- are eligible to receive annual scholarships to pursue their undergraduate degree. The goal of the program is to promote international understanding by having students from a diverse group of countries study alongside each other and share their differing worldviews.

"The global perspective that is central to a St. Olaf education results not only from our robust off-campus study program but also from a rich complement of international students in our student body. Membership in the Davis Scholars Program will assist us in recruiting international students who are passionate about a liberal arts education and passionate about St. Olaf," says President David R. Anderson '74.

The United World College schools are located in a dozen countries, including the United States, Bosnia, Canada, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Norway, Singapore, Swaziland, the United Kingdom and Venezuela. Students from more than 175 countries, representing all regions of the world, have attended UWC schools since the first was founded in 1962. In 2000 philanthropist Shelby M.C. Davis, the founder and manager of the Davis New York Venture Fund, began providing need-based scholarships for every United World College graduate who was admitted to a select group of American colleges and universities. One of the largest privately funded scholarship programs in the U.S., the Davis Scholars Program contributes up to $20,000 of need-based aid per year for up to four years for each scholar.

St. Olaf joins more than 85 American colleges and universities that participate in the Davis Scholars Program, including Amherst, Harvard, Stanford, Swarthmore and Williams.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.