SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30, 2002 - Prompted by the increased number of talented scholars on campus, San Francisco State University has opened a new scholarship office to match qualified students with financial awards that could reach $30,000.

The Academic Honors and Scholarships Office will connect eligible students with national and local scholarships and fellowships requiring campus nominations. The office is a clearinghouse for merit-based scholarships by gathering and dispersing information about the dozens of financial opportunities offered each year.

The new office operates in collaboration with the Financial Aid Office and works with academic advisers, graduate coordinators, faculty members and student organizations to identify outstanding students and help prepare them for prestigious, national competitions.

This spring two workshops will be held to outline the various steps in applying for scholarships. The first is at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, and the second at 2 p.m. Monday, April 8. Meetings will be held in Student Services, Room 401. Students planning to attend should RSVP to honors@sfsu.edu.

“We provide many services for newly admitted students but we saw room for improvement with continuing students in matching them with opportunities,” said Gail Whitaker, associate vice president for academic program development, explaining why the office was established. “We have very good, talented and capable students who often don’t know what financial opportunities exist.”

Students searching for honors scholarships and merit-based awards will find support from Beverly Voloshin, an English professor and the Academic Honors and Scholarships coordinator, who will help navigate scholars through the process. With the new priority of matching students with awards, Voloshin expects a greater number of qualified students to search for scholarships through the office.

“Our aim is to disseminate information about major scholarships and fellowships, to encourage outstanding students to apply and to give them some help with the application process. Such awards not only provide financial support but are also an encouragement to pursue serious work,” said Voloshin, who as a student was a U.S. Presidential Fellow and a National Merit Scholar.

Dozens of honors scholarships are available, each with specific academic, financial and diversity requirements. The amount for each award varies from $500 to $30,000 a year.

Voloshin’s advice to students is to visit the General Scholarship Information section of the Financial Aid Web site at www.sfsu.edu/~honors for information about more than a dozen major awards.

To schedule an appointment with the Academic Honors and Scholarships Office, call (415) 338-7000 or send an e-mail to honors@sfsu.edu. Students can also visit the Financial Aid Office in the One Stop Student Services Center in the Student Services Building. Once there students can complete an information sheet that goes into a database and helps match scholars with appropriate awards.

One of the largest campuses in the CSU system, SFSU was founded in 1899 and today is a highly diverse, comprehensive, public and urban university.

Student writer Fred H. Danfoura contributed to this release.