Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) announced that, through its Foundation, four new Nordic Education Scholarships have been awarded to Vermont students for the 2016 Academic Year.  The Nordic Scholars, half of whom are first-generation college-bound students, are from Windsor and Rutland counties who have been accepted into programs in computer science, civil engineering and healthcare-related fields. A committee of Roundtable members made funding determinations after review of written application materials and personal interviews with finalists.

The Nordic Education Trust was created in 1989 by former Roundtable member Ross Anderson and his wife, Gail, to support Vermont students pursuing post-secondary technical education at two-year programs. The Roundtable assumed stewardship of the fund in 2010 and since then has awarded 30 scholarships totaling over $165,000.

“The Roundtable has a long history of supporting education policies and programs that prepare students for success in career and college, beginning with investments in high-quality early care and education. With the Nordic Education Scholarships, the Roundtable seeks to provide opportunities and eliminate barriers for students whose career passions are in the technical fields, and for whom these would be life altering experiences,” said Roundtable Board Chair Win Smith, President of Sugarbush Resort.

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The Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of chief executive officers of Vermont’s leading private and nonprofit employers, representing geographic diversity and all major sectors of the Vermont economy. The Roundtable is committed to sustaining a sound economy and preserving Vermont’s unique quality of life by studying and making recommendations on statewide public policy issues.  www.vtroundtable.org.

The Vermont Business Roundtable Research & Education Foundation (VBRREF) works to promote a variety of charitable and educational activities that enrich the education and welfare of the children of the State of Vermont and their families, and to ensure a continuum of high quality educational experiences (from prenatal through post-secondary and higher education) to prepare children and families to be productive citizens in a global economy.