A Barancik Foundation Grant Puts an Exceptional Education Within Reach for High-Potential Young Leaders

Academically qualified low-income students from Sarasota and Manatee counties now have increased opportunities to attend New College of Florida, the State of Florida’s designated Honors College. Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation recently awarded New College Foundation $500,000 to launch a new program targeting local high school students who have demonstrated strong academics and outstanding community leadership. New College has named this new initiative the Access Leadership Program.

“The capacity of a quality education to transform lives has long been established—and its power to open doors of opportunity is most profound for students who are first-generation college students, underrepresented minorities, or from low-income families. The loss to our community when our most talented high school students are unable to realize their full potential because of a lack of access to a top tier college education is profound,” says Teri A Hansen, president and CEO of Barancik Foundation.

Bill Woodson, New College’s dean of outreach and chief diversity officer, offered a similar sentiment. “Increasing access to high-quality postsecondary education and diversifying the educated workforce are matters of local, regional, and national urgency. The vitality of the Sarasota-Manatee area and the state of Florida gains a tremendous boost when we successfully tap the talent of all of our young people, regardless of their economic status.” Woodson adds that New College will publicize the availability of the Access Leadership Program and the Barancik Foundation Scholarship at high schools throughout the region. An application, teacher recommendations, an essay detailing leadership contribution, and an interview will be used as a basis for awards.

With in-state tuition under $7,000 per year, New College consistently ranks as a top performer on affordability and one of the best value schools in the country. New College offers an exceptionally personalized and rigorous teaching environment that emphasizes close faculty-student interaction and student agency to take an active role in co-creating their educational experience.

“New College is committed to reaching even more students in our local region in the next decade,” says MaryAnne Young, vice president of advancement and executive director of the New College Foundation. “Barancik Foundation’s major gift opens up opportunities to students from families of modest means who would benefit from the supportive services of a residential campus.”

Young is also thinking of the impact on the students’ futures after they graduate from New College.

“A large percentage of New College’s students continue their education at graduate school, with many going on to earn their doctorates,” she says. “Other students graduate eager to join the workforce immediately. Barancik Foundation’s generous grant opens the door to all these possibilities. We’re all touched and deeply grateful!”

For more information about this grant or the New College Foundation, call 941-487-4800 or visit https://www.ncf.edu/alumnaei-and-friends/giving/the-foundation/.