Education
Education

Cousins Foundation gives UGA $5 million for needs-based scholarships

Ann and Tom Cousins. The foundation named after the Cousins family has donated $5 million to the University of Georgia. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.
Ann and Tom Cousins. The foundation named after the Cousins family has donated $5 million to the University of Georgia. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.
By
Aug 4, 2017

A prominent philanthropic organization has agreed to donate $5 million to the University of Georgia that will be used for needs-based scholarships and for its swim and diving coach position.

The Cousins Foundation made the gift to UGA, the university announced Thursday.

The money will be awarded to 24 service-minded students who demonstrate significant financial need. The four-year program will welcome six new students each year, with the first cohort beginning in fall 2019.

“This significant gift will transform the lives of so many UGA students - and their families - for generations into the future, and I am deeply grateful for the foundation’s tremendous generosity,” UGA President Jere Morehead said in a statement.

The UGA Foundation will give $500,000 through the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program to increase the number of need-based scholarships available at UGA.

A gift to the UGA Athletic Association will endow the swimming and diving head coach position in honor of Ann and Tom Cousins, founders of the foundation. Tom Cousins was a UGA letterman in swimming in 1950 and 1951.

In other Education news:

Graduate Marietta, the student success center, will help students deal with challenges outside the classroom with hopes of them staying in school through graduation.

About the Author

Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.

Follow Eric Stirgus on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Wade Roberts (center), a Decatur parent with children in three of the city schools, addresses concerns with the possibility of a K-2 school closing. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Some Decatur parents feel blindsided by school plans, few details

Aggravation brews over lack of specifics and what some see as poor communication.

Full circle: Sisters who were APS students now serve as APS principals

Sisters Kristy Reese and Kimberly Gibbs spent 12 years in Atlanta Public Schools and now educate others in the same system as school principals.

Atlanta parents, residents object to plans to close some schools

Due to lower enrollment and climbing costs, 16 school buildings would be repurposed under the plan, with several schools closing and their students rezoned for other schools.

The Latest

Kimberly Gibbs (left) and Kristy Reese pose for a portrait at L.O. Kimberly Elementary School, Thursday, Oct. 23, in Atlanta. Reese is principal of Kimberly Elementary School, while her sister, Kimberly Gibbs, is principal of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Full circle: Sisters who were APS students now serve as APS principals

Some Decatur parents feel blindsided by school plans, few details

Long-range plan could significantly change Atlanta’s schools

Featured

Rose Scott signals as Closer Look goes on air in the WABE studio. An Atlanta resident left WABE a $3 million donation, a boost after WABE lost $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (Ben Gray / AJC file)

Credit: Ben Gray

Donor leaves WABE $3 million, largest individual gift in station’s history

An Atlanta resident has bequeathed WABE a $3 million donation, the largest one-time individual donation in the nonprofit media operation’s 76-year history.

Usher sues business partners over failed Buckhead restaurant plan

Atlanta singer Usher wants his money back after loaning $1.7 million to music producer Bryan-Michael Cox and others to buy a Buckhead restaurant property for $6.3 million.

Braves’ original ‘Freeze’ is retired. But you probably still can’t catch him.

As the Atlanta Braves prepare to find their next sprinting mascot, Nigel Talton is enjoying his new career coaching high school athletes at McEachern High.