Stephen P. Sanford ’77 and his wife Jill have established an endowed scholarship fund to provide assistance to students with learning disabilities.

The Stephen P. and Jill J. Sanford Family Scholarship Fund will be made available to PC undergraduates on the basis of financial need and academic merit. Preference will be given to juniors and seniors with a recognized learning disability who are arts or humanities majors.

An endowed scholarship requires a minimum donation of $50,000 to establish. The $50,000 can be contributed as a one-time gift or over a period of time up to five years.

“By establishing this scholarship, the Sanford family will enrich the experience of a Catholic and Dominican education for many students. Their generosity will truly transform lives,” said Robert Ferreira ’83, assistant vice president for alumni relations.

The Sanfords, who have two children with learning disabilities, live in Hopkinton, Mass. Stephen, who was an accounting major at PC, is currently between career positions after serving for the past seven years as the chief financial officer of Keurig, Inc., a company specializing in single-cup coffee brewing technology.

Jill is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She works for Art Quest Programs, a firm that creates and presents art history programs to schoolchildren. These programs are designed to develop thinking skills through observation of visual works of art.

The Sanfords have been generous supporters of PC. Stephen was president of the Boston Alumni Club from 1987-1994 and president of the national PC Alumni Association in 2001-2002.

Stephen said there were three reasons Jill and he felt moved to establish the scholarship:

• to support education, which, he said, is “a critical element towards success in life”;
• to reward students who have succeeded even with the additional challenges associated with learning disabilities; and
• to recognize Providence College and help it remain “a wonderful place, providing students with a great education and lasting traditions.”

“Jill and I feel we have been very fortunate and wanted to share this by giving something back and by providing something lasting that would benefit others,” said Stephen.