Bon-Macy’s to Host Future Cougars of Color Scholarship Luncheon in Seattle

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington First Lady Mona Locke will present the keynote address during Washington State University’s second annual Future Cougars of Color Diversity Scholarship Luncheon, Friday, Sept. 10. The luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Bon-Macy’s, at First and Pine in downtown Seattle.

Funds raised during the event will benefit under-represented students through WSU’s Future Cougars of Color scholarship program.

The Future Cougars of Color (FCOC) program provides high-achieving high school students of color from around the state of Washington with a memorable two-day experience on WSU’s Pullman campus, showcasing the academic options and support programs offered by all 10 academic colleges at WSU.

WSU President V. Lane Rawlins has made recruitment and retention of a diverse, high-quality student body a priority, and he applauds the success of the FCOC program in its first year. Sixty-six outstanding students of color with an average grade point average of 3.57 attended the FCOC program in spring 2004. More than 65 percent of these high-achieving students confirmed their enrollment at WSU, making this flagship program the most successful diversity recruitment effort in WSU history.

“It is clear that attaining more diversity is critical to reaching the level of excellence to which WSU aspires in our strategic plan and to serving the state of Washington and our nation. Education is the key to making progress in attaining a culture that respects differences but does not make differences a determining factor in our social and economic relationships,” Rawlins said. “To the degree that we succeed, we unlock the creative potential of all of our members, recognizing real merit and the contributions of each and every individual.”

In addition to Bon-Macy’s, sponsors for the luncheon include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; The Ken and Marleen Alhadeff Charitable Foundation; the Britain Family; Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Foothills Auto Group; Hudson Bay Insulation; Nordstrom;  Preston, Gates and Ellis; King 5 TV; Safeco Insurance; The Seattle Times; Western Wireless; WSU and the WSU Foundation.