Treasurer secures college funds

OppenheimerFunds gives $3.5 million for Illinois students

By Meagan Sexton

Gatehouse News Service

Peoria Journal Star, Rockford Register Star, State Journal-Register

Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008

SPRINGFIELD - State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said on Monday one of the "most rewarding things" he has ever done was negotiating $3.5 million dollars in scholarships for students at no cost to taxpayers or the state.

The treasurer's office negotiated the scholarship money as part of a contract it has with OppenheimerFunds Inc. The company handles and invests funds for the Bright Start college savings program.

"When we were negotiating the final deal with Oppenheimer, we thought it would be kind of ambitious, but we thought we would ask them for some scholarship money to help Illinois kids who maybe wouldn't have the chance to go to college," Giannoulias said in a phone interview. "We negotiated very hard and were able to secure $3.5 million in need-based scholarships for Illinois students."

The Illinois State Treasurer's Bright Start Scholarship Program comes at no cost to the state or taxpayers.

The scholarships will be dispersed directly by schools to Illinois students and funded entirely by OppenheimerFunds Inc., the program manager for Illinois' college savings plan.

Giannoulias said the participating universities will determine a student's eligibility, and there is no application process.

David Pardieck, Bradley University's director of financial assistance, said in a written statement that he believes this new funding source will address a need that exists in universities' financial assistance programs.

"Treasurer Giannoulias has designed an excellent program that will allow the campuses considerable flexibility to direct the scholarships in ways that best serve their unique populations," Pardieck said.

Yolanda Beamon, a 23-year-old senior at the University of Illinois-Springfield, said there's a point in time when a college student doesn't have enough money to get by. She said the scholarship program would be very beneficial.

"It really is hard to explain the struggle of a college student," said Beamon, a Chicago Heights native who is majoring in political studies. "Whereas someone is struggling to pay a bill, a college student could be struggling to buy a book for a class."

Giannoulias said every year it costs significantly more to attend college, and this money will give thousands of students in Illinois a boost toward earning that degree.

"We're the richest country in the world," he said. "The fact that there are kids out there who are prepared, who have studied hard, who are competent, ready, willing and able to go to school and can't do it - to me, that is one of the most disheartening things I have ever heard. Hopefully, this can play a role and we can help some students who never would have gone to college get a secondary education."

Starting this year, about $200,000 will be distributed among 12 public universities in Illinois, and the same amount will be dispersed among private universities with undergraduate enrollments of 2,000 or more.

Each award amount is proportional, based on the total cost of going to the particular school, according to a news release. Funds should be available for the fall semester.