Five specialty fabrics industry student scholarships available through IFF

Published On: February 7, 2012

The Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) is offering five scholarships to specialty fabrics/technical textile industry students.

The importance of college and vocational training has been the core of IFF’s mission, and a hot button news story this past week in President Obama’s State of the Union address and in his speech Friday at the University of Michigan. The country’s new goal: Getting people the education and training they need so they’re ready to take on the jobs of today and tomorrow. Technical training is a critical part of the specialty fabrics/technical textiles industry for everyone from the chemist conducting R&D to the factory worker operating million-dollar high-tech machinery.

IFF was established in 1994, and awards several scholarships each year to students enrolled in accredited colleges, universities or technical schools. The foundation was set up by the board of directors of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA), a trade group with more than 1,800 member companies that has represented the U.S. specialty fabrics industry for 100 years.

Students interested in applying for the scholarships can visit IFF’s website; the submission deadline is in May, and the scholarship applies to the following school year, paid directly to the students’ schools for fall semester tuition.

The IFF Board of Directors holds responsibility for application review and scholarship awards. Announcement of the scholarship recipients takes place during IFAI Expo Americas 2012, which will be held Nov. 7-9 at the Boston Convention Center.

The five scholarships offered

Don Williams IFF Student Scholarship ($3,000 each, up to three available). This scholarship is named in honor of the IFF board director who was instrumental in developing the foundation scholarship program. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement, community service, and interest in a future career in the specialty fabrics industry.

ATA Member Scholarship ($3,000 each, up to two available). This award pays for tuition expenses at an accredited college, university or technical school. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement, community service, and interest in a future career in the specialty fabrics industry. To qualify, applicants must be employed by or related to an employee of an ATA member company.

In addition to these IFF-funded scholarships, several market segment scholarships are made available through IFF by ATA divisions:

Architect Student Scholarship ($3,000, one available). This scholarship award pays for tuition expenses at an accredited college or university architect program. The recipient will be selected on the basis of academic achievement, community service, and interest in a future career in the specialty fabrics industry. To qualify, applicants must be enrolled in a college or university architect program. This scholarship is funded by a donation from the Fabric Structures Association (FSA), a division of ATA.

Fabric Graphics Association (FGA) Member Scholarship ($2,000, one available). This award provides tuition expenses at an accredited college, university or technical school. The recipient will be selected on the basis of academic achievement, community service, and interest in a future career in the fabric graphics industry. To qualify, applicants must be employed by or related to an employee of a FGA member company. This scholarship is funded by a donation from the Fabric Graphics Association (FGA), a division of ATA.

Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) Member Scholarship ($2,000, one available). This scholarship award provides tuition expenses at an accredited college, university or technical school. The recipient will be selected on the basis of academic achievement, community service, and interest in a future career in the specialty fabrics industry. To qualify, applicants must be employed by or related to an employee of an MFA member company. This scholarship is funded by a donation from the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA), a division of ATA.

Additional scholarships will be announced in February and March, 2012. For more information, contact rastephens@ifai.com”>Ruth Stephens, IFF managing director, at +1 651 225 6545.

Source: ATA