Release Date: December 7, 2009
Young business leader endows scholarship at Kennesaw State
Agreement includes unique internship programFor media inquiries, contact: Cheryl Anderson Brown, Director of Public Relations
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(Clockwise from top left) Assistant Dean Samuel Grant Robinson, Vice President for Advancement Wesley Wicker, Chair of Visual Arts Joe Thomas, Dean Joseph Meeks and scholarship benefactor Michael Feldberg Photo by Cheryl Anderson Brown |
KENNESAW, Ga.—A new scholarship endowment has been created for the College of the Arts at Kennesaw State University by The Color Spot Inc., a graphics printing company in Marietta. Michael Feldberg, president of The Color Spot, met with university officials last week to finalize the agreement which includes a $20,000 scholarship endowment fund plus internship opportunities for students in the KSU Department of Visual Arts.
Feldberg created this unique scholarship-and-internship program in order to help prepare graphic design, photography and printmaking students for careers. “In our industry, we hire a lot of young people and it is important for them to have an understanding of the real-world work environment.”
Although only in his mid-20s, Feldberg has been a financial supporter and volunteer with the KSU College of the Arts for a number of years. He has served on the college’s annual fundraising committee for four years and chaired the annual Flourish Luncheon in 2008. These committees have helped the college raise more than $500,000.
"Mike Feldberg is an inspiration to me," said Joseph Meeks, dean of the College of the Arts. "I am delighted to be associated with a young man who is not only successful in his career but who also is committed to serving the community. His willingness to now share his professional expertise with our students is incredibly generous."
Through the agreement, KSU students who receive The Color Spot Scholarship will also be offered a 150-hour paid internship at The Color Spot.
Joe Thomas, chair of visual arts, said that students are going to be thrilled. “This is a groundbreaking program. For students to receive both a scholarship and a paid internship is unique. I’ve never seen it before.”
The KSU Department of Visual Arts offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art, the Bachelor of Science degree in art education and the Master of Arts in Teaching degree in art. The department currently has more than 600 declared majors, with nearly half of them in the area of graphic design, the area that will benefit most directly from The Color Spot Scholarship.
So far in 2009, the KSU College of the Arts has received gifts and pledges of more than $100,000 for student-learning initiatives and scholarship endowments, including the Michael Lips Memorial Scholarship, which was established by Robyn and Jamal Smith of Kennesaw.
"The university is deeply appreciative of our friends in the community who have continued to offer such generous support," said KSU President Daniel S. Papp. "The trust they have shown in the education we provide our students will continue to have an impact well into the next century."
At Kennesaw State, a minimum gift of $20,000 is required to create an endowed scholarship. These funds are the principal, which will never be spent and exist in perpetuity to benefit students. A benefactor may choose to fully fund an endowment at the beginning or fund it over a period of three to five years. After the initial endowment, the benefactor, friends or family may continue to make gifts to build the endowment in order to benefit more students.
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A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing student population of more than 21,000 from 142 countries. The third-largest university in Georgia, Kennesaw State offers more than 65 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including new doctorates in education and business.
The KSU College of the Arts is one of only four Georgia institutions to have achieved full national accreditation for all of its arts programs.