Many of the out-of-state students who are accepted to the University of Virginia each year are faced with a difficult decision. Despite dreams of attending UVA, they may come up against the reality that their parents can only afford an in-state alternative. For many working parents, the costs associated with higher education can be a determining factor in deciding where their college-age children spend their undergraduate years.
A $2.5 million gift from alumnus Terry Daniels to create the “UVA Within Reach Blue Ridge Scholarship” will support out-of-state students from middle-income families by helping to alleviate the cost of attending the University. Thanks to funds earmarked for the Blue Ridge Scholars Program by UVA President Jim Ryan in December 2020, the scholarship will be matched at 100%, for a total investment of $5 million.
“I’m thrilled that Terry Daniels is investing in UVA by opening the doors of educational opportunity to more families,” Ryan said. “His generous gift will attract and enroll outstanding students who may not otherwise have considered UVA, and we will be a stronger community as a result. I’m grateful to Terry and excited to welcome our new UVA Within Reach Blue Ridge Scholars to Grounds.”
A 1966 graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences, Daniels was a resident of California when he decided to enroll at UVA. He is a proponent of the value that out-of-state students can bring to the University’s academic and cultural environment.
“The strength of the University in large part comes from the benefits students receive from being surrounded by people of different socioeconomic, racial and international backgrounds,” he said. “You’re exposed to people from different cultural backgrounds, with different ways of thinking, and that can only benefit all students.”
Daniels noted that when out-of-state students attend UVA and are exposed to the University’s distinctive culture and traditions – such as the Honor System – they take their student experiences with them as they enter society, become productive citizens and return as loyal alumni: “That then has a positive impact on the University and state of Virginia from a financial standpoint,” he said.
The scholarship will make a difference in the lives of its recipients, said Stephen Farmer, UVA’s vice provost of enrollment.
“They’ll bring their experiences and their families’ experiences with them to UVA,” Farmer said. “But I think it’s just as important to focus on the difference that the scholarships will make in the lives of everyone who knows the scholars.”
