Valspar Provides $25,000 in Coatings Scholarships and Research Program for NDSU Students

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Sep 23, 2015, 08:00 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Valspar Foundation has donated $25,000 to provide scholarship and research opportunities for North Dakota State University (NDSU) graduate students studying coatings and polymeric materials. Valspar's contribution will support five graduate students with scholarships of $3,000 each. The remaining funds supported undergraduate students participating in the Coatings and Polymeric Materials Department's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE).

"We are grateful for the support that Valspar has continued to provide for our educational programs at NDSU as we educate future coatings science professionals," said Dean Webster, chair of the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at NDSU.

"Valspar is committed to encouraging and helping students further their science and technology education," said Dr. Cynthia Arnold, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Valspar. "It's critical to provide the coatings industry with a steady pipeline of talent who bring contemporary scientific approaches and information that supports innovation."

The students awarded Valspar graduate scholarships are:

Teluka Galhenage – Colombo, Sri Lanka
Junren Lin – Fuzhou, China
Adlina Paramarta – Java, Indonesia
Alison Rohly – Lino Lakes, Minnesota
Arvin Yu – Iloilo City, Philippines

Students receiving stipends for the SURE program are:

Jeferson Prado Swerts – Machado, Brazil
Dat Nguyen – Cyprus, California

The scholarships were awarded in August for the 2015-2016 academic year. The awards are based on academic performance, demonstrated leadership, participation in school and community activities, work experience, and career and educational goals and objectives. The scholarship program is administered through the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at NDSU and coordinated through NDSU's Development Foundation.

Valspar: If it matters, we're on it.^®Valspar is a global leader in the coatings industry providing customers with innovative, high-quality products and value-added services. Our 10,800 employees worldwide deliver advanced coatings solutions with best-in-class appearance, performance, protection and sustainability to customers in more than 100 countries. Valspar offers a broad range of superior coatings products for the consumer market, and highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets. Founded in 1806, Valspar is headquartered in Minneapolis. Valspar's reported net sales in fiscal 2014 were $4.5 billion and its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:VAL). For more information, visit www.valspar.com and follow @valspar on Twitter.

About NDSU
NDSU, Fargo, North Dakota, USA, is notably listed among the top 108 U.S. public and private universities in the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education's category of "Research Universities/Very High Research Activity." Internationally known for its excellent educational and research programs, the NDSU Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials has developed research partnerships with industry and government agencies. Established 110 years ago, the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials has earned a reputation for quality teaching, research and education and is among a handful of universities worldwide to offer programs in coatings and polymeric materials.

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SOURCE Valspar