The Michelson Twenty Million Minds Foundation Launches "Cover the Cost" Scholarship

PASADENA, Calif., Sept. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michelson Twenty Million Minds Foundation, an organization focused on bringing technology to the forefront of higher education, announced today a new $2,500 book scholarship for college students who creatively answer the question "How do you cover the cost of textbooks?" Submissions can be made using either video or a written essay. Students are then encouraged to promote their submissions online.

"As we enter a new digital age, it is a travesty that extreme textbook pricing serves as a barrier to education for many low-income students," said former California State Senator Dean Florez, President of The Michelson Twenty Million Minds Foundation. "This scholarship will not only provide educational assistance to winning students, but through their creative answers we will help draw attention to this pressing crisis with real student voices."

According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) textbook prices rose 82 percent, or three times the rate of inflation, in the past decade. High textbook prices have also altered student behavior; a recent study found that 65 percent of students opted against buying a book because it was too costly, and 94 percent were concerned their grade would suffer as a result.  In the same study, 48 percent of students said the cost of textbooks affected how many and which classes they took each semester.

The scholarship contest is supported by The US Federation of Student PIRGS, Study Room, Packback, and Gradguru. These entities, and many others like them, share a common goal of improving access and affordability in the U.S. higher education system. There is evidence to suggest that the cost of textbooks not only contributes to rising drop out rates, but also contributes to lengthening time till graduation, which drastically increases the cost of education.  

"We are pleased to see wide-spread support for this initiative within the educational community. The Michelson Twenty Million Minds Foundation is amassing a collage of sentiment to drive its larger open-resource textbook adoption efforts and wants to start with those most affected:  The students," said Florez.

Additional rules and submission information are available at http://20mmscholarship.org/

Scholarship Submission Guidelines:
Video entries must be 30 seconds or less, in the form of a public YouTube link and submitted via the contest website: 20mmscholarship.org. Essay entries should be typed, 250 words maximum and submitted via the website contest form. Contest begins at 12:01 A.M. PDT on September 23, 2014, and runs through 11:50 P.M. PDT on October 28, 2014. All submissions must be nonfiction. Open to legal residents of the United States age 18 or older at time of entry. Void where prohibited by law. (Entries will not be returned and may be used at the discretion of The Michelson Twenty Million Minds Foundation)

About The Michelson Twenty Million Minds Foundation:
20MM is a tech-driven innovator that focuses on developing and delivering tools that improve education access and affordability.  Since its inception in 2011, the organization has funded a growing library of free online textbooks from OpenStax College, launched a free code academy in Southern California, and taught coding to special needs students in a first-of-its-kind program. 20MM and its initiatives are made possible by the generous support of Dr. Gary Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson. Visit http://www.20mm.org/, follow us @20MillionMinds, and subscribe to our videos on the Michelson 20 Million Minds YouTube Channel.

About Dr. Gary Michelson:
Dr. Gary K. Michelson is a board certified orthopedic spinal surgeon and inventor. He is the inventor of a number of surgical instruments, operative methods and medical implants. Since retirement from private practice, Dr. Michelson also founded and funds several charitable organizations: The Michelson Medical Research Foundation, a medical research foundation which primarily focuses on genetic research, Twenty Million Minds Foundation, a non-profit startup dedicated to helping people achieve the success they are reaching for, and Found Animals Foundation, a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation dedicated to animal welfare.

Contact: Mayra Lombera [email protected] (626)396-7071

SOURCE The Michelson Twenty Million Minds Foundation