NDIA Eglin Chapter Funds Bachelor's Degree Scholarship

08/19/2005

A new partnership that "will help us grow our own" has been crafted between the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Eglin Chapter and Okaloosa-Walton College. A generous gift by the NDIA chapter creates the first four-year scholarship award for the college's new Bachelor's in degree program in Project and Acquisitions Management.

"We are very pleased to continue the partnership between NDIA and the college," said Dr. Judy Stokley, president of Eglin's NDIA group of military and civilian contractors, in announcing the $30,000 contribution to the OWC Foundation to establish the four-year scholarship endowment.

"We recognize that the college has broken new ground with this bachelor's degree and now we (NDIA) are breaking new ground with a four-year scholarship award to support students in this program," said Stokley, who is Deputy for Acquisition for the Air Armament Center at Eglin.

Stokley explained that the NDIA as a government and industry nonprofit organization has raised its own funds to begin the group second scholarship endowment at OWC. In 2004, NDIA funded a two-year scholarship endowment.

Dave Price of Lockheed Martin and NDIA member said the college's bachelor's degree "targets just what we do and it's a natural for NDIA to provide this kind of scholarship support. The companies represented here and others along with Eglin will be the beneficiaries of this effort."

Price said along with helping students, a real attraction for NIDA to make the scholarship gift is the state matching program. "When OWC can get our donations matched $1-to-$1 that makes this work."

Joining Stokley and Price in making the donation were NDIA members Jeff Haars of Sverdrup, Gail Allen of Northrop Grumman, Bob Blake of Aliant, Dave Andrews of Raytheon, Grady Jordon and Judy Schlosser of Lockheed Martin and Tom Hancock of Eglin.

Dr. Bob Richburg, OWC president, expressed "our deep gratitude" of the military and corporate connection which brought about the second NDIA Scholarship. "You know, we've still have our Shaping the Future by Degrees' Campaign that continues to raise funds for the BAS program, so I hope your corporate headquarters will recognize we still need them," quipped Richburg.

"It is private contributions that have played a major role in the evolution of OWC to a four-year college through this very popular bachelor's program," said Richburg, noting the more than 300 students currently admitted to the degree program. "The efforts of NDIA's military and civilian members have set a standard with this four-year scholarship, especially after the group funded your first scholarship to support a BAS scholarship."

Richburg said as the BAS grown from 156 students in 2004, the program's first year, to the more than 300 for fall 2005, the Shaping the Future by Degrees Campaign already has a new goal for this year. "We need to secure $100,000 in funding for an Endowed Teaching Chair specifically for the BAS program," Richburg said. "In this way, the college can rely on the additional dollars to attract and train BAS faculty."