DENVER, Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Indian College Fund received a grant of $100,000 from the APS Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Arizona Public Service, a leading producer of electric power in the southwest. The donation established the Arizona Public Service Navajo Scholars Program, which will provide scholarship support to students studying for a degree in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM) at Dine College, Navajo Technical College and colleges within the New Mexico and Arizona state university system.

A portion of the grant will be used for the 2011 American Indian Student Summer Leadership Training, a week-long program to be held at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This training will provide opportunities for leadership development, career development, and networking for the selected scholars.

"Education continues to be the principle focus for the APS Foundation," said Mark Schiavoni, the APS Senior Vice President of Fossil Generation, and a member of the APS Foundation board of directors. "The Foundation is committed to providing opportunities for students to pursue their higher education dreams and will continue to support the Navajo Nation by empowering the future leaders of our communities."

"This gift will help so many students pursue their passions in the STEM fields at colleges in Arizona and New Mexico," said Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. "We are honored to establish this relationship with the APS Foundation and to be part of helping students' dreams come true."

About Arizona Public Service

APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW). The APS Foundation, Inc. is an Arizona nonprofit corporation that was incorporated in December of 1981 as a charitable foundation recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. The APS Foundation is a separate entity from Pinnacle West and APS. The Foundation receives annual gifts (funding) from APS; is governed by a board of directors; and makes distributions for charitable donations, pursuant to its bylaws, with a focus on education.  

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education and support to the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

SOURCE American Indian College Fund

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