[Chronicle]

Feb. 19, 2004
Vol. 23 No. 10

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    Police, fire scholarship winners honored today

    By Josh Schonwald
    News Office

    The University’s nearly 30-year-old Chicago Police and Fire Scholarship program, which has now given nearly 200 students partial and full scholarships to the College, will recognize this year’s nine recipients at a reception today in Ida Noyes Hall.

    At the event, which Chicago Fire Commissioner James Joyce and Police Superintendent Philip Cline are expected to attend, nine scholarship recipients will be honored: four children of police officers and five children of Chicago firefighters. Several winners of the scholarship who are currently enrolled in the College also will attend.

    Julian Levi, a Professor of Urban Studies in the Law School and the founding executive director of the South East Chicago Commission, conceived the program in the 1970s. Originally, Levi, who worked in close partnership with the city of Chicago for the strengthening of the Hyde Park/Kenwood community, suggested this program to the University’s Vice President for Community Affairs, Jonathan Kleinbard. They saw the program as a way of thanking the Chicago police department for its service to the University community and the city as a whole, said Duel Richardson, Director of Neighborhood Relations in the University’s Office of Community Affairs.

    Children of Chicago police officers and firefighters apply to the College as any other applicant would, and they are evaluated on the same criteria. There is no guarantee a child of a police officer or firefighter who is admitted to the College will receive a scholarship. The selection committee considers a number of factors, including each applicant’s high school record, school engagement and community service activities, said Richardson.

    The Police and Fire Scholarship program is considered particularly successful because historically, Richardson said, these admitted students have had academic and extracurricular success.

    This year’s award scholarship recipients are: Adrian Aviles (Police), Crystal Carlson (Police), Megan Kolasinski (Police), Steven Siptrotss (Police), Kevin Carroll (Fire), Ashley Colby (Fire), Patrick Dospoy (Fire), Brian Hague (Fire), and Madeline Wirtz (Fire).