INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana State University president Deborah Curtis stood on the floor of the state Senate with current and former ISU students Tuesday as Sen. Rod Bray presented a resolution recognizing the 30th anniversary of the 21st Century Scholars program.
The program encourages access to college for low-income Hoosiers by engaging them in middle school and awarding scholarships for good grades and good behavior in high school.
The 21st Century Scholars were also recognized in the House chamber.
ISU had 1,832 21st Century Scholars in 2017-18, according to the most recent statistics from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
Teresa Lubbers, commissioner of the CHE, spoke after Bray on the Senate floor. She recognized President Curtis as a champion of the 21st Century Scholars program.
“Indiana State has made a significant commitment to the program and really sees this as part of its mission,” Lubbers said.
Lubbers thanked lawmakers for consistent support of the program and praised the students, past and present, who were in the chamber.
“The return on your investment is behind me and in the gallery,” she told senators.
Sen. Chris Garten, who was a 21st Century Scholar, told his colleagues, “This is a program that’s changing lives and family trees.”
Lubbers on Tuesday also delivered her State of Higher Education speech at the Statehouse.
“While there is no one way to guarantee equity in higher education, the Scholars program comes as close as we can to an answer,” she said.
Among the three people Lubbers featured in her speech was 2010 ISU graduate James Yates, a 21st Century Scholar.
“James is on his way to meeting his career aspiration to practice medicine in an undeserved, urban community as a physician’s assistant,” she said. “He and his wife launched The Yates Family Project in 2016 to provide service to underprivileged groups in their community. Clearly, James understands the value of the 21st Century Scholars Program. It changed his life and he is now working to improve the lives of those around him.”
She asked Yates to stand “and let us acknowledge your educational journey and contributions to our state.”
Cover Photo
Sen. Rod Bray (R-Martinsville) presents a resolution honoring the 30th anniversary of the 21st Century Scholars program. Indiana State University president Deborah Curtis (holding folder) stood behind Bray with ISU students Dominique Whipple (left of Curtis), Redmond Neely, and Zakwon Williams.