About the Foundation
The Mesa Foundation acts as a clearinghouse for all Mesa scholarships, awards its own scholarships and oversees the foundation's scholarship endowment fund.
San Diego Community District Chancellor Constance Carroll has nothing but praise for Foundation President Ruth Kern and the foundation's success. "With the steadily increasing cost of education, the scholarship program is becoming more and more important in enabling students to complete their studies. Strong leadership on the foundation board, the generosity of our college faculty and staff, contributions from corporations and support from the community are all part of this winning equation for students," she said.
The foundation's endowment may be unlike any other charitable organization in that 100 percent of all scholarship funds go to students. "There are no service fees, no administrative charges," said Terry Davis, Mesa College business manager and secretary-treasurer of the foundation.
The Mesa College Foundation Board acts as the executor of the Mesa College scholarship program. The board is composed of people from the San Diego and campus communities
Focusing primarily on scholarships for students the Mesa College Foundation has seen extraordinary growth in recent years.
Scholarship assistance is one of the keys to ensuring student success by expanding financial support. Under the leadership of Foundation President Ruth Kern, Scholarship awards to students have grown from the modest $2,400 awarded in its earlier history to over $120,000 to be awarded in 2005.
109 students awarded over $120,000 in 2004 on April 30, 2004 at the 11th annual San Diego Mesa College Scholarship/Mesa College Foundation Awards Banquet.
Nearly 500 Mesa College students and family members, faculty, staff, and community donors attended the gala event held at the Hilton Hotel on Mission Bay . Of the 109 scholarship recipients, 30 received multiple scholarships.
Thanks to the generosity of faculty, staff, people in the community, and local organizations and businesses, the scholarship program has soared from meager beginnings - awarding only $2,400 in scholarships in 1993.
The program was emceed by then-Chancellor-Designate Constance Carroll, Dean Lori Adrian and Professor Larry Weiss. Ruth Kern, president of the Mesa College Foundation, also officiated. Professor Lisa Williams and Dean Adrian co-chaired the dinner/ dance