Contact:
Yvette Noel-Schure, Parkwood Entertainment
Michael Tullier, APR, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
Update, May 10, 2018: the scholarship criteria and application for the 2018-19 academic year are available online for download. Completed applications must be submitted by May 31, 2018. Click here for the application.
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INDIO, CA—Beyoncé, through her BeyGOOD initiative, announced that Ƶ is among the four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to benefit from the newly established Homecoming Scholars Award Program. One student from each school will receive a $25,000 scholarship for the 2018-19 academic year for study in various fields.
The announcement comes on the heels of Beyoncé’s historic appearance at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, April 14, where she became the first black woman to headline in the festival’s 19-year run. The jubilant set, housed on a pyramid stage with 150-plus cast members, dutifully in-sync, was the first time the icon returned to her home — the stage — in more than one year.
The show, with its homage to excellence in education, was a celebration of the homecoming weekend experience — the highest display of college pride. The energy-filled production put the spotlight on art and culture, mixing the ancient and the modern, which resonated masterfully through the marching band, performance art, choir and dance. It was the impetus to mark her second scholarship program.
“We salute the rich legacy of historically black colleges and universities,” stated Ivy McGregor, director of philanthropy and corporate relations at Parkwood Entertainment, which houses BeyGOOD. “We honor all institutions of higher learning for maintaining culture and creating environments for optimal learning that expand dreams and the seas of possibilities for students.”
Founded in 2013 during the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, is an extension of Beyoncé's charitable heart. Through impactful dynamic partnerships, BeyGOOD's mission is to set an example of giving back and paying it forward while empowering others to do the same with what they have in their own communities. BeyGOOD is built on the belief that we are all in this together, and each and every one of us can make a difference by giving back.
Beyoncé established the Formation Scholars Awards Program, a merit scholarship program, in April 2017 in celebration of the one-year anniversary of “LEMONADE” — her critically-acclaimed and globally-lauded 2016 visual album. The Formation Scholars Awards encouraged and supported young women who are bold, creative, conscious, confident and unafraid to think outside of the box.
The newly launched Homecoming Scholars Award Program for 2018-19 will expand scholarship eligibility to all qualifying students at the four universities, regardless of gender. Disciplines will include literature, creative arts, African-American studies, science, education, business, communications, social sciences, computer science and engineering. All applicants must maintain a 3.5 grade point average or above. All finalists and winners will be selected by the universities. Winners will be announced this summer.
“We are truly honored that Ƶ has been selected to be part of Beyoncé’s Homecoming Scholars Award Program,” said Dr. Charlotte P. Morris, Tuskegee’s interim president. “We also salute Beyoncé’s philanthropic spirit in support of education and the mission of our nation’s historically black colleges and universities.”
In addition to Ƶ, other participating HBCUs include Xavier University, Wilberforce University and Bethune-Cookman University. HBCUs are U.S. institutions of higher education established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community.
© 2018, Ƶ