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For Release: June 26, 2003

Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship 2003 Recipients

177 Byrd Scholars Announced by Commissioner Librera

The Department of Education is pleased to announce that 177 New Jersey students have been selected as 2003 Robert C. Byrd Scholarship winners.

The federal scholarship program is administered by the New Jersey Department of Education. The scholarships are awarded to the most academically talented members of high school graduating classes. The students compete against other applicants within each of New Jersey’s 13 congressional districts.

"We are very pleased with this year’s talented pool of applicants and are certain that all who applied offer the best they can in their respective schools," Commissioner of Education William L. Librera said. "On behalf of the department, I’d like to congratulate this year’s Byrd Scholarship winners and wish them continued success in the future."

Scholarship winners receive $1,500 a year, contingent on federal funding, for four years of study at any accredited college or university. Students who maintain full-time status and exhibit satisfactory academic progress are entitled to renew the scholarship each year.

More than 1,300 applications were received. The winners were selected based on their college entrance examination scores, class rankings, grade point averages, and other factors, including academic honors and responses to an essay question. Applicants must be legal New Jersey residents and be nominated by their schools.

For more information about the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program, or New Jersey’s 2003 scholarship recipients, contact Sue Sliker, program administrator, at 609-777-0800.