May 2002

Three GW Students Among First Jack Kent Cooke Scholars

Awards Assist With Graduate School Funding

GW’s Wai-Ying Chow, Class of 2000, along with Joel M. Dabu and Arnab Mukherjee, Class of 2002, are among 50 college students to receive the first Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarships. The three could receive up to $300,000 over the next six years to cover the costs of graduate school.

The 50 scholars were selected from a total of 675 applicants. To be eligible for this year’s scholarship, an applicant had to be a resident of, be attending a college or university in, or plan to attend a graduate school in the greater Washington region. A group of 12 academic advisers from across the country assisted the foundation in the selection process.

“We want to make a statement that now is the time to be investing in the next generation of leaders for our country and the world,” says Matthew J. Quinn, executive director of the foundation. “We expect great things from these scholars as they go forward in life.”

The late Jack Kent Cooke, who was unable to go to college in the midst of the Depression, set aside the bulk of his estate to create a foundation dedicated to education. The foundation is setting aside approximately $10 million over the course of the next six years to support this first class of 50 Cooke scholars.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is receiving more than $500 million in assets from Cooke’s estate, primarily through the proceeds from the sale of Cooke’s National Football League team, the Washington Redskins, and expects to provide approximately $25 million to support individual scholarships on an annual basis.

 

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