Florida Independent College Fund Awards $2,400 UPS Scholarship

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Rogelio Gutierrez, a senior at Florida Institute of Technology, earned a $2,400 Wendell Colson Scholarship provided by UPS and the Florida Independent College Fund (FICF). The FICF is a statewide association for private colleges and universities that is affiliated with the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). At the national level, the CIC collaborates with the UPS Foundation to distribute the scholarships.

Gutierrez is a first-generation college student. An aerospace engineering and mathematical sciences double major, Gutierrez expects to graduate in May, 2012. His brother, Jose, is a Florida Tech junior majoring in aerospace engineering.

The CIC is an association of nearly 700 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that work together to strengthen college and university leadership, sustain high-quality education, and enhance private higher education’s contributions to society. This year, CIC awarded nearly $1.45 million in scholarships from its UPS Educational Endowment Fund to private institutions of higher learning across the nation. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of the students’ academic achievement and financial need.

“This joint UPS/CIC scholarship program has a direct, tangible impact on the education and careers of hundreds of young men and women each year,” said Richard Ekman, president of CIC. “Because so many young men and women don’t have the financial resources to complete their college education, the UPS Scholarships are critically important.”

The UPS Educational Endowment Fund, established in the 1980s through endowment gifts from the UPS Foundation totaling $4 million, is now valued at $39 million. Since its inception, this fund has awarded $48 million in scholarship support to over 16,000 students nationwide.