Tuesday, June 7, Ann Herbage, immediate past president of the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapter, presented University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) Interim President Michael A. Olivas with a $100,000 scholarship endowment check from the Delphian Foundation.

The generous contribution will provide scholarships for qualified, full-time students. Scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year were awarded to four UHD students.

"I'm delighted that my final act as president for the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters Foundation is to finalize an endowment to support UHD students," said Herbage. "The Delphians have a special fondness for UHD students and their commitment to improve their lives through education."

Delphians have long recognized that building personal relationships is critical to student success. In addition to financial support, Delphian mentors meet at least twice-annually with their scholarship recipients, and the relationships often expand to include meals, phone calls, emails and friendly advice. They take pride in helping students network and build connections, encouraging students who need extra support, and coaching students to improve their social skills.

The Delphian Foundation also provides grants to university departments at the University of Houston and UHD.

For the 2016-17 academic year, Delphians have provided programmatic grants for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (support for a peer mentoring program and construction materials for the Theatre Department) and two grants for the College of Sciences and Technology (a new podium for the common area and lab equipment for control instrumentation).

Olivas said, "The commitment and devotion that I see in donors and individuals who have long relationships with UHD is inspiring. I am honored by the investment that the Delphians have made in UHD and our students, and I pledge that they will continue to be proud of our partnership."

The Delphian Assembly was founded in 1924 to promote intellectual stimulation and continuing education for women at a time when opportunities for women were limited. Members gathered for reading seminars prepared by distinguished faculty and content experts in a wide range of topics across many academic disciplines. The Delphian Foundation endowed the first scholarship ever awarded at the University of Houston in 1930.

The Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapter establishes a scholarship endowment for University of Houston-Downtown. From left, Michael A. Olivas, UHD Interim President, and Ann Herbage, immediate past president of the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapter.