Penn National and the Public Education Foundation have partnered to create the Diversity Scholarship Program. The scholarship fund will receive $1m of annual contributions.
The PEF is a nonprofit organization based in Las Vegas.
The program will include two-year and four-year scholarship awards between $2,500 to $10,000 annually, Penn National said. The PEF will administer a competitive selection process comprised of members independent of Penn National.
The program is accepting applications from late April to May 2021 through Penn National’s website.
“Last year, amidst one of the most challenging times in our nation’s history and as the world grappled with an outpouring of racial and social anguish, we formed a new Penn Diversity Committee to help put our Company’s longstanding support of diversity and inclusion into action,” said Jay Snowden, President and CEO of Penn National.
He added, “The Diversity Committee, which reports directly to me, is comprised of a broad range of team members, including those from underrepresented communities from around the country and at varying levels in our organization. It will ensure our Company has mechanisms in place to listen to team members about important ongoing social justice issues, and to help implement new initiatives such as this Diversity Scholarship Program. Other examples include specific actions to increase our recruitment and support at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCUs”) and universities with diverse populations, as well as increasing our support to organizations in our communities that promote equality, justice and diversity.”
