Students in the UF Rinker School of Construction Management might see more scholarship money coming their way thanks to a $100,000 donation.
Current Builders, a general contracting company based in Pompano Beach, Florida, is donating $100,000 to the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning. The company will donate $20,000 each year over the course of five years to a scholarship fund for the students, said Rick Colandreo, the chief financial officer of Current Builders.
Students admitted to Rinker will be considered for this scholarship following the guidelines of eligibility, which have not yet been released.
The school will set up a selection committee to award the scholarship, said Dr. Chimay Anumba, the dean of the college.
“Every year, we have lots of students that need financial support, and so the more of these scholarships we can set up, the more students we can support and help out,” Anumba said.
The company made its first $20,000 payment on May 2, Colandreo said. They will make the next payment around the same time next year.
This is the largest contribution Current Builders has made to the college, said Crystal Binford, director of business development at Current Builders.
The company has 22 UF alumni within the firm, including CEO Chip Reid, Binford said.
“We are always happy to help,” Binford said. “We recruit heavily from the school and are always behind anything we can do to support the long-term goals of the college.”
Patrick Prieto, a 21-year-old UF junior and architecture major, said current scholarship options seem limited. Prieto thinks the scholarship donation will motivate people to work harder in their classes.
“I think this money will have a huge impact because architecture is already expensive,” he said. “I spend about $1,000 a semester just for my design class in materials, and any money towards students will help them with these costs.”
Contact McKenna Beery at mbeery@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @mckennabeery
