The seventh annual scholarship breakfast, held April 26, raised $78,000 for the School’s endowed scholarship programs. More than 200 guests attended the early-morning event, emceed by Raymonda Reese (MSW ’16), a research fellow in the School-sponsored Communities in Action initiative. The keynote speaker, Vikram Jandhyala—the UW’s first vice president for innovation strategy—ignited attendees with his ideas on how to create synergy among faculty, staff and students and foster a University-wide innovation culture.
During the event, Dean Eddie Uehara described the recently established Excellence in Social Impact Scholarship Fund—made possible with a generous gift from long-term partners Steve and Connie Ballmer—as the most ambitious scholarship fundraising goal in the School’s history. “This gift allows us to double the amount of scholarship aid we give to our students each year," said Uehara. "But this is just the beginning. Our goal over the next five years is to triple the amount of funding for students—to cut tuition by 40 percent for those students with the greatest need.” Nineteen of this year’s 72 scholarship recipients attended the breakfast and were warmly acknowledged during the event. A six-minute video profiling five of these scholarship recipients was also screened.