The United Health Foundation has made its third annual $50,000 donation to the
American Indian College Fund to support Native American students in Arizona.

Scholarships provided by the foundation’s Tribal Scholars Program support students with grade-point averages of at least 3.0, who are focusing on health-related fields and who wish to work in needy communities, according to this news release.

The scholarships go to students at Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Tohono O’odham Community College and Dine College.

Jeannine Rivet, UnitedHealth Group executive vice president and interim executive director of United Health Foundation, says that “partnering with a respected organization such as the American Indian College Fund to award these scholarships is an effective way to help foster a more diverse health care work force.”

Richard B. Williams, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund says the scholarships will help “talented Native American students pursue careers in the health care field and to ultimately serve communities in need.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: American Indian College Fund, Arizona State University, buffalo post, Dine College, Jeannine Rivet, Northern Arizona University, Richard B. Williams, Tohono O'odham Community College, Tribal Scholars Program, United Health Foundation, University of Arizona

President Barack Obama is donating the $1.4 million he received for winning the Nobel Peace Prize to 10 organizations, including the Denver-based American Indian College Fund.

The organization will receive $125,000.

“We are thrilled that President Obama has chosen to publicly acknowledge the work the American Indian College Fund is doing in Indian Country by sharing $125,000 of his prestigious Nobel Peace Prize award with us,” said Richard B. Williams, the group’s president and CEO, says in this announcement on the College Fund’s site.

He said the money will go to scholarships at the 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities within the United States.

Other groups receiving the Nobel Prize funds include the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, the United Negro College Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the Montana-based Central Asia Institute, headed by Greg Mortenson (”Three Cups of Tea”), which builds schools – especially for girls – in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need. I’m proud to support their work,” Obama said in announcing his decision.

The American Indian College Fund is the nation’s largest private source of scholarships for Native American students, providing more than 5,000 annually.

For more information on the organization, check out its Web site, or watch the video above.

Gwen Florio

Tags: American Indian College Fund, buffalo post, Central Asia Institute, Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, Greg Mortenson, Gwen Florio, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack Obama, Richard B. Williams, Three Cups of Tea, United Negro College Fund