University Times

Several new scholarships have been established recently at Pitt's Bradford campus.

* Members of the Bradford campus Staff Association have donated $5,000 to establish the Pitt-Bradford Staff Association Scholarship.

The Staff Association, which is comprised of 117 full- and part-time employees, created the scholarship to benefit students who have a financial need.

Pitt-Bradford Staff Association President Bill Kline said, "This scholarship was the brainchild of association council member Michelle Buchholz," who works as the administrative assistant for the Office of Institutional Advancement.

Kline noted that this is the first staff association-established scholarship at any of the University of Pittsburgh campuses.

* The friends and family of Bob Conaway have established a scholarship to memorialize a man who loved and supported UPB and encouraged local students to enroll.

The Bob Conaway Scholarship, which pays tribute both to his love of sports and his career in finance, will be awarded to undergraduate students. Preference will be given to veterans and students pursuing careers in business and sports-related fields such as accounting, athletic coaching, business, business management, economics, finance, management, marketing, physical education, recreation administration, sport and recreation management, sports medicine, athletic training and writing.

Conaway's wife, Rosanne, a retired Pitt-Bradford librarian, said, "Bob loved and supported Pitt-Bradford. Being memorialized by the Bob Conaway Scholarship would make Bob proud."

Conaway was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from the Wharton School in 1953 with a B.S. in economics. That year he joined the U. S. Marine Corps, serving as a first lieutenant until 1955.

* Bradford businessman Jack C. Hermes has donated $6,000 to be awarded to current undergraduates majoring in business management or those students who plan to attend Pitt-Bradford to major in business management.

Hermes attended St. Bon-aventure University, where he studied business.

He purchased Beatty Auto Parts in 1970 and assumed control of the family-owned Hermes Liquid Fuel Service in 1978. He served as president of both companies until his retirement in 1988.

* The Kiwanis Club of Bradford has donated $5,000 to aid traditional undergraduate students with financial need. Preference will be given to former Bradford Area High School Key Club members, children of Kiwanis Club of Bradford members or graduates of Bradford Area High School.

* An anonymous donor gave UPB a $5,000 gift to create the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association/Blue & Gold Society Scholarship Fund to benefit returning Pitt-Bradford students. Preference will be given to the members of the Blue & Gold Society with second preference to students whose parents or siblings attended or graduated from Pitt-Bradford.

The Blue & Gold Society was established in 1991 at the University and a regional society was formed at Pitt-Bradford in 1998. Members of the Blue & Gold Society help support the mission of the University and the alumni association by promoting school pride and spirit.

* Shirley Ostrum, a retired assistant professor of nursing at the Bradford campus, has established a scholarship in memory of her mother, Esther Ostrum, who raised four children, three of whom became nurses.

Ostrum donated $5,000 to create the Esther Ostrum Memorial Nursing Scholarship, which will be awarded to students planning to enroll or who are enrolled in the nursing program at Pitt-Bradford. Preference will be given to students pursuing an associate of science degree in nursing, but will not be limited to ASN students.

Ostrum said she wanted to create the scholarship to memorialize her mother because, "my mother has always been a supporter of nursing."

She also said she created the scholarship because "I am a nurse. I got my first degree through the support of my mother and father. After that, I received my education with the help of scholarships, government stipends and hospital tuition reimbursement programs. I have always planned on trying to help somebody else get a scholarship in nursing."

The donations all will be matched by the Reed-Coit Scholarship Challenge, which matches any gift totaling at least $5,000 that is designated for a new scholarship.

The challenge was made possible by a $1 million bequest by Dorothy Reed.