Nathan Foundation Donates $40,000 to SSU Foundation for Dorchester County Student Scholarships

SALISBURY, MD--The Nathan Foundation of Dorchester County recently presented $40,000 to the Salisbury State University Foundation Inc. to finance four-year scholarships. The scholarships, amounting to $8,000 each, are for five Dorchester County students to attend Salisbury State University.

The Nathan Foundation has been making scholarship money available to Salisbury State-bound students since 1962. The foundation's 37-year investment in SSU now totals more than $600,000.

"Over 75 Dorchester County students have benefitted from this generous donation from the Nathan Foundation," said Martin Williams, vice president of university advancement at SSU. "We are pleased to have the Nathan Foundation’s support for the quality of education that is provided by Salisbury State."

The check was presented to Deborah Abbott, chair of the SSU Foundation, and Dr. Donald Cathcart, SSU’s interim povost, by Ed Nabb, president of the Nathan Foundation. To qualify for the scholarship, Nabb said, one has to secure a high school guidance counselor's recommendation. The selection process begins in May.

"Success begets success, doesn't it?" asked Nabb. "We at the Nathan Foundation think that for every person you educate, you've sown seeds for five more to be educated.

"Many of the good students we're sponsoring at Salisbury State have taken the opportunity to go on and further their education (at graduate school)," said Nabb. "And many return to Cambridge to share the expertise they've gained."

The Nathan Foundation specifies that the money be used only for the benefit of citizens of Dorchester County and goes to organizations that serve people of every race, color and religion.

"The Nathan Foundation is by far the largest charitable organization in Dorchester County and is permanently funded for the foreseeable future," said Nabb.

The Nathan Foundation was created following the instructions in the will of Milford Nathan, who died in 1953. Later the foundation was supported further from the estates of Estelle Nathan, Milford's wife who died in 1960, and Bertha Nathan, Milford's sister who passed away in 1983.