New PA Budget Sends Nearly $4M in Scholarships to Cheyney University’s Keystone Honors Program

July 1, 2019

New PA Budget Sends Nearly $4M in Scholarships to Cheyney University’s Keystone Honors Program

(CHEYNEY, PA – July 1, 2019) – The new Pennsylvania state budget that went into effect today contains great news for incoming students at Cheyney University, the nation’s oldest Historically Black College (HBCU). The budget includes $3.98 million for the Keystone Honors Academy, a program that provides full scholarships to eligible Cheyney students.

The Keystone Honors Academy is the only full scholarship program that the PA State System of Higher Education provides.

The amount, which also includes funds from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) marks a substantial increase over last year’s $2.3 million allocation.

“This very generous allocation will enhance our ability to continue to attract high performing students,” said Cheyney President Aaron A. Walton. “The scholarship funding comes at a great time with the university enjoying a resurgence in academics, culture and support.”

Cheyney’s waiting list includes students who qualified for the program but were now awarded the scholarship for the upcoming fall semester because the previously available funds had been awarded.

“Now we’ll be able to work through the waiting list of students who committed to attending Cheyney and who will benefit from the full scholarship,” President Walton noted. “We’ll also be able to recruit additional highly qualified students.”

Added Executive Director of Enrollment Management Jeffery Jones, “This additional funding will enable us to award scholarships to our high-ability continuing students who qualified as they entered Cheyney, but were unable to receive scholarships due to the lack of sufficient funding. This increase will make a huge difference.”

The scholarship funding for the new fiscal year has no bearing on Cheyney’s previously stated commitment to record a balanced budget in the just completed fiscal year. Walton remains optimistic that when those numbers are reconciled over the next several weeks, the university will have met its financial goals.