Lawton J. Williams wants to become a school administrator; Danielle Campbell plans to become a high
school science teacher. Both students, Syracuse residents living in the neighborhood just west of the
Syracuse University campus, are getting some help toward achieving those goals, thanks to SU's
Cogeneration Plant Grant Assistance Program.
Williams and Campbell are receiving full scholarships to attend SU beginning this fall, including tuition,
fees, room and board, and a book allowance.
Williams has already earned an associate's degree in human services at Onondaga Community College,
as well as a certificate in early childhood education. In the fall, he will enroll in the bachelor's degree
program in social work in SU's College of Human Services and Health Professions. Williams will go to
school full time, in addition to parenting three children and continuing in his position as a youth center
director for the Syracuse Housing Authority, though he will reduce his work hours.
"Eventually, I'd like to earn an M.S.W., then enter a Ph.D. program," Williams says. Ultimately, he would
like to become a school superintendent.
Campbell will transfer to SU from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she
is a forest biology major. At SU, her
major will be geology, and she plans to also earn certification as a secondary science teacher. "SU has an excellent, excellent, excellent
geology program," Campbell says, adding that finishing her education
at the University using the Cogeneration Scholarship will keep her from having to pile up loans to get her degree.
Williams found out about the Cogeneration Scholarship through flyers and
pamphlets that were distributed in his neighborhood near the west side
of the SU campus. Campbell heard about it from her mother, who works at
the Syracuse Housing Authority.
The Cogeneration Plant Grant Assistance Program was established in 1992,
preceding the construction of an 80-megawatt cogeneration facility on
McBride Street. The facility sells steam to SU and electricity to Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. As part of an agreement among SU, city
agencies and community organizations, the University provides a package
of financial aid to residents of the neighborhood surrounding the plant
who are working toward a bachelor's degree and who meet SU admissions criteria.
"We continue to regard this as a very important part of our good-faith relationship with the neighborhood
west of the University," says David C. Smith, vice president of enrollment management. Smith has served
as chair of the selection committee for the Cogeneration Scholarship since its inception; the committee is
composed of representatives from the University, the Syracuse Housing Authority and the cogeneration
plant neighborhood. As many as four people may receive assistance during an academic year.
Smith says that grades are not the only thing that is taken into account when selecting the scholarship
recipients. "We try to look very carefully at individual circumstances, not just numbers," he says. "Most of
the scholarship recipients have overcome hardships and met challenges in order to get where they are.
That's true of the latest recipients, as it was of the earlier ones."
In addition to Williams and Campbell, students studying at SU in the fall under Cogeneration Scholarships
are Calvin King, who expects to earn a social work degree in December, and Sherita Gregory, who is
working toward her degree in communication sciences and disorders in the School of Education in May
2002.
In total, SU has awarded 12 Cogeneration Scholarships.
