Maricopa Community Colleges get $1.5 million for students in need

PHOENIX — Maricopa Community Colleges students with financial hardships will be able to apply to the Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars Program for at least five more years, the school announced Wednesday.

That’s because the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust “renewed and expanded” its support for the program in July.

The program provides $1.5 million in grants for students in need, Maricopa Community Colleges announced.

However, the Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars Program provides more than scholarship money, the school said.

The program also helps students develop their careers and find community support, the school said. The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has been helping students at Maricopa Community Colleges for 23 years.

Why is it called the Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars Program?

The trust is named after the former publisher of the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette, Nina Mason Pulliam. She was also the owner of Central Newspapers Inc., which is headquartered in Indianapolis.

“The trust has invested more than $31 million into the Nina Scholars program,” Maricopa Community Colleges said. That money supports students both in Arizona and Indiana because the titular Nina Pulliam lived in both states.

Trustee chair Carol Pen Schilling, who is Pulliam’s niece, said her aunt thought education was the key to self-sufficiency.

“The Nina Scholars program provides life-changing opportunities to men and women who would not normally have access to higher education,” she said in a statement.

“We are proud to continue partnering with Maricopa Community Colleges to support these students.”