First Siemens Teacher Scholarships Awarded

    ISELIN, N.J., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Siemens Foundation today
 announced the first winners of a major scholarship initiative aimed at
 encouraging minority students to pursue teaching careers in science and
 math. The announcement comes just two months after President Bush
 established math and science education as a national priority in his State
 of the Union address.
     Thirty-nine students will receive scholarships in the 2005-06 Siemens
 Teacher Scholarships program, a collaboration between the Thurgood Marshall
 Scholarship Fund (TMSF), the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the
 Siemens Foundation. Each recipient will receive an average scholarship of
 $2,000 to help supplement his or her higher education costs toward a
 teaching degree in math and science.
     "Many of these students have overcome great challenges on the way to
 getting an education and they've expressed a strong desire to give back to
 their communities once they become teachers," said James Whaley, Vice
 President of the Siemens Foundation. "With the addition of the Siemens
 Teacher Scholarships to our signature Siemens Competition in Math, Science
 & Technology, Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement and Siemens Science
 Days programs, Siemens is on the front lines providing comprehensive action
 to enhance math and science education across the board from middle school
 through college."
     "TMSF is proud to join forces with Siemens' and UNCF in developing a
 new generation of math and science educators for the future," said Dwayne
 Ashley, CEO and President, Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. "By
 investing in the development of new science teachers, we are investing in
 the future pipeline of young men and women who will be inspired to explore,
 analyze and probe the unknown by these Siemens' Scholars."
     The Siemens Foundation is providing $1 million in scholarships over the
 next five years to undergraduate and graduate students through the Siemens
 Teacher Scholarships. The program was launched in March 2005 at the U.S.
 Department of Education. The funds are administered by the Thurgood
 Marshall Scholarship Fund and the UNCF, with each organization receiving
 $500,000 to be awarded to students accepted to any one of America's 85
 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that are members of
 the two organizations.
     HBCUs play a vital role in meeting America's need to increase and
 diversify science professionals at a time of declining bachelor degrees
 awarded in science, technology, engineering and math. A 2005 report by the
 Southern Education Foundation found that black colleges in the South are
 producing close to one-fourth of the entire nation's African-American
 college graduates in the sciences.
     A complete list of the 2005-06 Siemens Teacher Scholarships winners
 follows:
     2005-06 UNCF Siemens Teacher Scholarships
 
       * Brandon Baxter, Benedict College (Math Education)
       * Kenneth Dawkins Jr., Benedict College (Math Education)
       * Deidre Alleyne, Bennett College (Elementary Education)
       * Hollie Henry, Bethune-Cookman (Education)
       * April Gary, Claflin University (Math Education)
       * Janine Santiago, Claflin University (Math Education)
       * Jason Perry, Florida Memorial University (Math Education)
       * Pamela Hall, Florida Memorial University (Biology Education)
       * Marcus Graham, Johnson C. Smith University (Mathematics)
       * Gregory Deas, Livingstone College (Education)
       * Vonda Pettigrew, Oakwood College (Education)
       * Makeda Lane, Oakwood College (Education)
       * Rachelle Donald, St. Augustine College (Elementary Education)
       * Tania Coleman, Shaw University (Math Education)
       * Annie Leathers, Shaw University (Elementary Education)
       * Alisca Harris, Stillman College (Elementary Education)
       * Julia Sanders, Stillman College (Elementary Education)
       * Crystal Benton, Tuskegee University (Elementary Education)
       * Shanay Benton, Tuskegee University (Elementary Education)
       * Taryn Sanders, Tuskegee University (Elementary Education)
       * John Coles, Virginia Union University (Math Education)
       * Allena Poles, Virginia Union University (Math/Secondary Education)
 
      2005-06 TMSF Siemens Teacher Scholarships
 
       * Jacqueline Jones, Alabama State University (Biology)
       * Shavonda Morrow, Alcorn State University (Biology)
       * Carl Harvin, Coppin State University (Elementary Education)
       * Marsha Cole, Grambling State University (Chemistry/Biology)
       * Natasha Cooper, Grambling State University (Elementary Education)
       * Connell Kenneth, Howard University (Biology)
       * Domonick Crane, Langston University (Mathematics)
       * Mark Moxley, Lincoln University Pennsylvania (Education)
       * Rolinda McIntosh, Medgar Evers College (Biology)
       * Antoine Wroten, Morgan State University (Biology)
       * Courtney Johnson, North Carolina A&T State University (Biology)
       * Charlotte Ingram, North Carolina A&T State University (Elementary
          Education)
       * Deka Holmes, Texas Southern University (Biology)
       * Reginald Collier, Texas Southern University (Mathematics)
       * Shanay Benton, Tuskegee University (Elementary Education)
       * LaShaunta Matthews, Tuskegee University (Biology)
       * Tiara Turner, University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Mathematics)
       * William Davis McKean, University of the Virgin Islands (Education)
 
     The Siemens Foundation
     Established in 1998, the Siemens Foundation provides nearly $2 million
 in college scholarships and awards each year for talented high school
 students in the United States. Based in Iselin, New Jersey, the
 Foundation's signature programs -- the Siemens Competition in Math, Science
 & Technology, the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, and the Siemens
 Teacher Scholarships -- recognize exceptional achievement in science, math
 and technology. By supporting outstanding students today, and recognizing
 the teachers and schools that inspire their excellence, the Foundation
 helps nurture tomorrow's scientists and engineers. The Foundation's mission
 is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support
 that is the hallmark of Siemens' U.S. operating companies and its parent
 company, Siemens AG. For more information, visit
 http://www.siemens-foundation.org.
 
 

SOURCE The Siemens Foundation