College Teams With Ruritan                               

News Release

For additional information, contact WVU Parkersburg President Erik Bitterbaum, 304-424-8200.

Ruritan National and the Ruritan National Foundation have a new partnership arrangement with West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

The college will now match Ruritan National Foundation scholarship funds that are awarded to students who choose to attend WVU at Parkersburg. If a Ruritan civic club selects a student who competes successfully for a Ruritan National scholarship grant, meets WVU Parkersburg’s admission requirements, and is enrolled at the college, the Parkersburg campus will provide a matching grant.

Students can apply for the college’s matching funds once they have been approved for a Ruritan National Foundation scholarship grant.

"This new program is the third to be implemented with West Virginia colleges and will be a model for similar arrangements with colleges in other states," Richard Ely, Ruritan National Executive Director, noted. Similar agreements exist with Concord College and Bluefield State College. Those agreements resulted in scholarships for almost 20 students in the past two years.

"We are pleased to establish this partnership with Ruritan," WVU Parkersburg President Erik Bitterbaum said. "This is another means by which we can make it possible for students to pursue higher education opportunities."

The Ruritan National Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Ruritan National, a coalition of Ruritan civic clubs in rural areas and small towns. The Ruritan National Home Office is located in Dublin, VA. The Foundation concentrates on helping students fund education beyond high school and on helping victims of disasters. Ruritan civic club members represent a cross section of a community’s population and seek to local communities a better place in which to live.

More information on Ruritan or Ruritan National scholarships is available by contacting contact a local Ruritan club or Ruritan National, toll-free at 877-787-8727.

For additional information, contact:
Connie Dziagwa
Director, Communications and Public Relations
WVU Parkersburg
(304-424-8203)