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(Madison, SD) Janet & Roy Thomas of Paoli, PA have established a new scholarship designed specifically to assist single parents trying to complete their college education. The scholarship was announced today by Marty Gallanter, Director of the Dakota State University Foundation.

"Janet & Roy have come up with a very unique idea targeted at a group that desperately needs assistance," said Gallanter. "We lose too many because the financial burden is too great for them to handle. Once they leave only a minority ever return. Most never graduate."

University sources have determined that many single mothers drop out before completing their third years of school. The vast majority of single parents at DSU are women, though the scholarship is available to men as well.

"During the first year of the project, we will be experimenting and will try to find the best way to administer this concept," Gallanter continued. "Our data seems to indicate that the third year is the critical time of decision. If we can help a parent get through that third year, they can usually handle the fourth year on their own. The goal is that much closer."

As a result, the new scholarship will be awarded to a third year student who is willing to make a commitment toward graduation. Funds will be made available to cover all tuition, books and fees not covered by federal aid programs. The Thomases have also provided funding for childcare and a stipend for living expenses. Interested applicants should call Marty Gallanter directly at 256-5120.

Janet and Roy Thomas are both Madison natives. Roy graduated from General Beadle State College in the spring of 1969. The institution was renamed Dakota State College the following fall and Dakota State University twenty years later. Roy Thomas was a senior vice-president and one of the owners of Ensoniq Corporation, a technical leader in sound reproduction electronics. Ensoniq supplied most of the sound cards purchased by Gateway for its computers. Ensoniq was sold to financial interests based in Singapore for an undisclosed sum a little over a year ago.

The Thomases recently established the Thomas & Crane Memorial Scholarship, named in memory of their fathers who were both custodians at Dakota State. The Thomas & Crane Scholarships are directed at Madison High School students, adding three each year starting with the Madison High class of '98. This scholarship, when combined with federal financial aid, will pay virtually all tuition, fees and books for a four-year education at Dakota State University. Janet and Roy Thomas recently visited Madison and offered the new scholarship in a meeting held in the Foundation offices on July 17^th.

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