The Marion Gruver Student-Parent Financial Assistance Program will provide funds for the living, educational, and other expenses that student-parents have in caring for their children. The new low-interest loan, which is named in honor of Marion Gruver of Dushore, Pa., recognizes Mrs. Gruver’s lifelong dedication to education.

“Marion Gruver’s love, care, and concern for children prompted us to honor her by establishing this endowed program. All of us who know Marion Gruver benefit from her generosity of spirit, and this program is a fitting tribute to a very special woman,” Shinn said.

All Berea College students must demonstrate academic ability and financial need, but student-parents, while eligible for some government aid, have higher costs than other students. Students with families at Berea may be recent high school graduates who have a newborn child or thirty-year-old parents with grade school children who are trying to finish their educations, but the common denominator is their extremely high need for paying their own expenses as well as costs related to rearing their children.

The College’s new loan program provides Berea’s student-parents with several benefits. Rather than turning to various federal loan programs, students with children receive funds which they can repay later at very favorable, below-market rates. Six months after the student is no longer enrolled in a degree-seeking educational program, repayment begins with the interest rate fixed at just half of the then-current rate for the Federal Stafford Loan program or two percentage points less than that rate, whichever is less. It is anticipated that in its first year, the Marion Gruver Student-Parent Financial Assistance Program will assist six to eight Berea students.

For the 2003-04 year, 60 students, or about 4% of Berea’s enrollment, are student-parents. In addition to the new Marion Gruver loan program, Berea’s initiatives to support student-parents include child care services and 50 family apartments that are part of Berea’s new Ecovillage.

Berea College is unique among institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. The College charges no tuition, awarding the equivalent of a full-tuition scholarship to students of high academic ability but limited financial resources. Rigorous academic programs lead to Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in 28 fields. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Berea as the top college in the South in its class.

All 1,500 students are required to work at least 10 hours per week for the College as part of an atmosphere of democratic living that emphasizes the dignity of all work. The College’s primary service area is Southern Appalachia, but students from more than 40 states and 65 countries make Berea a diverse learning community. For more information visit the Berea College web site at: www.berea.edu.