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SBC Foundation Provides Support To NACME for Minority Engineering Students At Eight Universities

SBC Foundation Provides Support To NACME for Minority Engineering Students At Eight Universities

Published 06-17-05

Submitted by SBC Communications Inc.

New York (June 17, 2005) - The SBC Foundation - the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications Inc. - has provided a $15,000 grant to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) to help underwrite scholarships for African American, American Indian and Latino men and women minority engineering students at eight of NACME's 20 partner institutions of higher education.

The eight universities, all within SBC's 13-state service area, include: California State University, Los Angeles; California State University, Sacramento; University of California, San Diego; Texas A&M University; The University of Texas at El Paso; The University of Texas at San Antonio; University of Missouri-Rolla; and University of Illinois at Chicago.

For more than 31 years, NACME has provided leadership and support for the national effort by government, business and academia to increase the representation of successful African American, American Indian and Latino men and women in engineering and technology, math- and science-based careers.

The SBC Foundation has provided funding for NACME scholarships for more than 20 years to help open the pathways to engineering for talented minority engineering students. It is anticipated that the Foundation's contribution will enable more than 125 students at these universities this school year to fulfill their dreams of becoming engineers.

"The SBC Foundation's support of education in technology fields is premised on the belief that every student should have an opportunity to succeed," said SBC Foundation president Laura Sanford. "Most of the fastest growing jobs this decade will require education beyond high school. By supporting these NACME scholarships, we are supporting proven efforts that will provide students with the tools they need to prepare them for lifelong success."

"I am delighted that the SBC Foundation has come forward with this generous contribution," said Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, NACME's president and CEO. We have found that one of the main reasons minority students have been unable to complete a course of study in engineering is because of a lack of financial resources. This grant will remove that obstacle for the NACME scholars at these universities."

About the SBC Foundation:

The SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC Communications Inc. The SBC Foundation supports efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those with an emphasis on education and technology and those that benefit underserved populations. SBC Foundation-backed programs are designed to increase access to information technologies, broaden technology training and professional skills development, and effectively integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic development. The Foundation Center has consistently ranked the SBC Foundation among the nation's top fifteen corporate foundations. In 2002, the SBC Foundation launched SBC Excelerator, a multimillion dollar competitive grants program that funds nonprofit organizations in their efforts to digitally connect communities. For more information, visit www.sbc.com/foundation.

About NACME:

As the nation's largest private source of minority engineering scholarships, NACME has contributed more than $100 million in scholarship assistance to more than 18,000 minority students at more than 120 colleges and universities throughout the country since its inception in 1974. In the 2004-2005 school year, NACME increased the number of students receiving scholarships to 733, an increase of more than 40 percent over the previous year. Since the mid-1990s, the retention-to-graduation rate of NACME scholars has exceeded 85 percent, which is more than twice the national retention average for minority engineering students nationwide and nearly twenty points higher than that of all engineering students.

In addition to its scholarship program, NACME has also participated in many other national efforts to build precollege math and science programs such as the GuideMeNACME.org website. NACME also publishes reliable and timely data and
analysis of university performance in educating minority engineers and informs the public dialogue on affirmative action, financial aid, student admissions, and workplace climate.

For more information about NACME, please visit www.nacme.org.

SBC Communications Inc.

SBC Communications Inc.

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