5/10/12 – Riverdale, NY — Award-winning author and alumnus James Patterson ’69 continues his support and generosity at Manhattan College with the establishment of 16 new James Patterson Scholarships.
The new scholarships will start this fall, and $5,000 will be awarded to 16 rising seniors and juniors who exemplify hard work, determination and leadership in the classroom and within the campus community. Eight students from both the junior and senior classes will be selected to receive the James Patterson Scholarships based on merit, need and involvement in activities related to the College’s mission. All recipients of the James Patterson Scholarships will be selected this summer.
“My hope is that our program will help motivate and stimulate potential leaders at the College who will go on to do great things in their communities,” Patterson said. “Manhattan College will be warmed and illuminated by their glow.”
During the scholarship program’s second year, Patterson will increase the scholarships from 16 to 18, and recognize eight juniors and 10 seniors with awards. Four of the senior scholarships recipients will be awarded $7,500 each based on their personal contributions made to the College throughout their junior year, and these will be determined through an essay submission. The remaining 14 recipients will receive $5,000.
“The students who will be eligible for this generous assistance are our ’emerging stars’: they work in student government, organize and lead the Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience (L.O.V.E.) service trips, tutor in the local schools, play varsity athletics, or write for the newspaper and the literary magazine, while also excelling in classes,” said Brennan O’Donnell, Ph.D., president of Manhattan College. “Many of them are also first-generation college students whose families struggle to meet the gap between available financial aid and the full cost of attendance.”
In addition to the new Patterson scholarships, he currently funds the James Patterson Minority Scholarship at Manhattan, which started in 2006 and has supported the education of 25 students. He also has supported the College’s Jasper Open, De La Salle Dinner and Annual Fund.
Patterson has had 19 consecutive No. 1 novels on The New York Times bestseller list, and holds The New York Times and Guinness world records for most hardcover fiction best-selling titles by a single author (76). As an author, Patterson is passionate about books and encouraging people of all ages to read. In fact, he recently launched the website ReadKiddoRead.com as a tool for adults to help them find books for kids to read. He also rewards groups or individuals who use creative and effective ways to spread the joy of reading with the James Patterson Pageturner Awards, and makes regular donations of thousands of books to troops overseas.
“James Patterson’s strong commitment to education is clearly evident in his generous support of Manhattan College and its students,” O’Donnell added.