May 7, 2003

Stonestown Galleria, San Francisco State University’s next door neighbor, recently donated $10,000 to the Consumer and Family Studies/Dietetics program to create a scholarship endowment fund for students studying apparel design and merchandising.

Students in the SFSU Student Fashion Association who participate in community service programs at the Galleria such as designing window displays in vacant storefronts and organizing fashion shows -- will be eligible for the yearly awards. The scholarship was formally announced at yesterday's annual student fashion show, which was sponsored by the consumer and family studies program with generous help from Stonestown.

“We want this to be a link between academia and community involvement,” said Connie Ulasewicz, who teaches visual merchandising at SFSU. “We want to give recognition to students who are getting involved in real life experiences.”

During the last year, the Galleria and the consumer and family studies program have worked closely to promote a partnership between the students and the individual store merchants at nearby Stonestown. Students routinely use the mall as a laboratory in their merchandising classes, studying lighting, signage and store displays.

“The merchants are very open to talking to us,” Ulasewicz said.

The awards are also a way for Stonestown to honor students for their work in organizing a recent fashion show fund-raiser for a local private school and designing window displays for such stores as Talbots and Nordstrom in vacant window spaces.

“We believe that the presentation of this endowment fund solidifies Stonestown’s partnership with San Francisco State and the commitment to the Consumer and Family Studies/Dietetics department, particularly the Apparel, Design and Merchandising program,” said Nicole Schmitt, Stonestown’s marketing manager. “We’ve built a solid relationship with the faculty and students over the past year. The $10,000 Stonestown endowment is a culmination of the time, energy and creativity shown by all.”