This news from my workplace, University of the West:

Contact: Jason Kosareff
Enrollment Counselor
University of the West
1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave.
Rosemead, CA 91770

Phone (626) 677-3311
[email protected]

Press Release

University of the West Celebrates $1.1 Million in Scholarships for Buddhist Students

International Buddhist Education Foundation tops $1.1 million in scholarships with major donation

ROSEMEAD, Calif., January 27, 2010: University of the West, the only accredited Buddhist campus in Los Angeles County, will host the International Buddhist Education Foundation Scholarship Ceremony at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 in Exhibition Hall.

“This will be a great occasion for students to meet and say thank you to the donors who have sponsored and supported our students at UWest,” said Grace Hsiao, UWest’s Admissions Officer.

As of last semester, IBEF has donated $1,111,580 in scholarships to University of the West students in the Buddhist Studies, Comparative Religions and M.Div. in Buddhist Chaplaincy program. IBEF is a group of Los Angeles area business owners and community leaders who are also Buddhists who developed the scholarship fund for UWest students in 2006.

IBEF has awarded 318 scholarships since spring semester 2006. Scholarships range from $4,000 per year for bachelor’s degree-seeking students to $8,000 per year for doctorate-seeking students.

IBEF awards roughly 50 of these scholarships to new and returning per semester. During the latest semester, fall 2009, IBEF donated $170,500 in scholarships to 47 recipients.

Students must be enrolled full time as well as have and maintain a minimum 3.5 grade point average, among other factors, to qualify for the scholarship.

For some students, particularly clergy members from Buddhist, Christian or other faiths, the IBEF scholarship is the only thing that makes a college degree possible.

Once a year, IBEF also provides 10 UWest students with free trips to Taiwan to visit the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Kaohsiung. Fo Guang Shan is the parent organization of University of the West and Hsi Lai Temple, the Western hemisphere’s largest Buddhist temple located in Hacienda Heights, Calif.