OKWU and the Lowe challenge…
The Purpose
The Lowe Family Young Scholars Endowment Fund honoring Wilbur and Grace Lowe was established at OKWU by Barry W. and Karen Lowe and Oklahoma Wesleyan University Foundation. The purpose of the fund is to help those locked within the grasp of low income to achieve self-sufficiency through education. It is available to students who have been part of the Lowe Family Young Scholars Program and who subsequently attend Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU).
The Challenge
Mr. Barry Lowe, philanthropist and president of the Bartlesville Public School Board, has challenged OKWU to raise $100,000 per year for ten years to be placed in an endowment and he will match the funds dollar for dollar. At the end of ten years OKWU would have a two million dollar endowment for the young scholars accepted into the program.
Purpose of the Program
This effort will combat misperceptions about higher education often held by families living in poverty and particularly those who have attended Jane Phillips Elementary School in Bartlesville.
Why Jane Phillips?
Jane Phillips Elementary, hit harder than many places by the cycle of poverty, is located less than two miles from ConocoPhillips facilities in Bartlesville. More than 300 students attend Jane Phillips Elementary, named for the wife of Phillips Petroleum’s founder, Frank Phillips. Ninety-six percent of students at Jane Phillips receive free or reduced lunches and the average family income for students attending Jane Phillips is less than $22,000 per year.
Perhaps impacting the situation most is a less than 10% high school graduation rate among the parents of Jane Phillips Elementary students. Unless steps are taken to provide short and long term solutions to helping students achieve a high school diploma and entrance into college, the poverty afflicting students at Jane Phillips Elementary and in Bartlesville will likely continue.
How it will be accomplished
Breaking the chains of poverty requires specific action taken by many interested in solving the problem – school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community leaders. In response to this need, OKWU has partnered with a ConocoPhillips retiree, Barry Lowe, the Bartlesville Public Schools, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, who have laid the groundwork that supports this paradigm changing initiative by: 1) designing a scholarship enrichment model for students that improves the effectiveness of their educational experience and prepares them to explore higher education opportunities; 2) pairing students with community mentors for age-appropriate discussions about educational success, future opportunities, goal setting, and career planning; 3) providing meaningful opportunities for prospective college students to experience campus life and activities 4) providing endowed scholarship funding for a college education for those who successfully complete the primary and secondary education portions of the program.
Expected Results
As a result of the partnership developed by OKWU, the Lowe Family, the Bartlesville School District, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Bartlesville and community volunteer mentors, we expect to achieve the following results:
- Encourage positive attitudes about the higher education experience and demonstrate its attainability.
- Demonstrate an increased number of students entering college after high school graduation.
- Attract donors to support the Lowe Family Young Scholars program, fighting the cycle of poverty by providing scholarships for access to higher education.
Measurable Objectives
OKWU will achieve the expected results by pursuing specific objectives:
- Employ one school relations liaison to administer the logistics of the program in cooperation with the Lowe Family, Bartlesville Public Schools, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the young scholars and their mentors.
- Host 50 students at several college experience activities tailored to increase interest in and knowledge about higher education on an ongoing basis.
- Seek donors to match Mr. Lowe’s ten year, million dollar challenge.