THE ANDERSON NISKANEN SCHOLARSHIP

HISTORY
In 1998 Suama Niskanen Anderson established the Anderson Niskanen Scholarship Fund as a memorial to her husband, Elmer Anderson and her sister, Saima Niskanen. Both Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were long time residents of St. Louis County and pursued separate careers during their lifetimes. The Andersons and Saima Niskanen maintained strong connections to their native country of Finland. They also had a strong interest in the visual arts and combined these interests by collecting Finnish art.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
A. Who May Apply
Graduating seniors from Duluth public high schools who will attend either the University of Minnesota-Duluth or the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities may apply.

B. Financial Need
Priority consideration will be given to students with financial need. Such need must be demonstrated through submission of a recently completed Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). See the financial need page for more information.

C. Academic Criteria
Applicants should be in the top 25% of their high school class.

D. Number, Value and Duration of Awards
Three scholarships of $2000 will be awarded each year. Generally, this annual award is divided into two installments, half for fall, half for spring. Depending on the availability of funds, full-time summer school attendance may be awarded if sufficient credits are earned.

E. Payment
The award is co-payable to the institution and the recipient.

APPLICATION INFORMATION
Applicants should complete the DSACF Common Scholarship Application. The complete application must be received to the DSACF by January 15th. That day our office will be open for hand delivery until 5:00pm. Electronic submissions and postmarks must be stamped before midnight. Late applications will not be considered.

DETERMINATION OF AWARDS
The Scholarship Committee of the Community Foundation will select individual scholarship recipients. They will base their decision on the applicant’s financial need, academic record, written recommendations and seriousness of purpose.

AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT
Names of recipients will be announced as early as possible. Each applicant will receive an individual communication with the results of the committee’s decision regarding his/her application.

APPLICANT/RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• The majority of communication between applicants/recipients and the scholarship administrators will take place via email. Applicants/Recipients are required to have and regularly check their email and notify the Community Foundation of any changes to their contact information.
• All recipients of Community Foundation administered scholarships are expected to acknowledge acceptance of the award promptly. In most cases, this acknowledgement will take two forms, completion of an Acceptance Form provided by the Community Foundation and secondly, a thank you letter/card to the founder of the scholarship fund. The Community Foundation will provide names and addresses as needed. If unable to accept the scholarship, the committee should be given that information and a reason in a prompt manor.
• A recipient must complete enough credits to be recognized as a full-time student in each semester an award is made. Likewise, a satisfactory grade point average (2.5) must be maintained.
• If the student receives funds from the college due to non-completion of a term or not attending full time, these funds are to be returned to the scholarship committee. If the college requirements are not met, but there is no refund, the scholarship grant will be forfeited for the next term.
• Recipients understand that the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation may use scholars’ names, photographs and any portion of application essays for use in scholarship publicity, such as broadcast media, websites, newspaper, radio, etc.
• The DSACF Scholarship Committee hopes that recipients recognize and appreciate the contributions their award has made to their futures. It further anticipates that, in the years to come, recipients find some way to give back to the community that provided them with these opportunities.

RENEWAL
The scholarship is renewable for three additional years, provided satisfactory scholastic standing (GPA of 2.5 or greater) is maintained. During the late spring, each recipient will receive a renewal application which must be completed and returned - along with a certified transcript reflecting the most recent academic year - to the scholarship committee. Renewals will not be considered until both documents are received. All scholarship awards will cease when the recipient attains an undergraduate degree.

View the next scholarship description.