BOSTON and BRIDGEWATER, Mass., May
6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridgewater State University
and Santander Bank, N.A. announced
today an agreement where the Bank's Santander Universities will
support the University's Bridge Partnership Program, a residential
summer program on the University campus for middle school students
in the gateway cities of New
Bedford, Brockton, and
Boston.
Starting this summer, Santander will support the Bridgewater
State University Foundation to broaden the base of educational
outreach services provided by the University for the Bridge
Program. Santander's support will expand the number of students
participating in the program over the next three years.
The brainchild of BSU President Dana
Mohler-Faria, Bridge is a two-week residential program that
has brought 500 middle school students to campus over the past
three summers to experience college life. Students live in a
university residence hall, take courses with BSU faculty and
education majors as well as their own teachers; and tour
educational, cultural and historic sites across Massachusetts.
"By collaborating with Bridgewater, we are investing in the future of
these students," said Roman Blanco,
CEO of Santander Bank, N.A. "This
program enables young students to experience first-hand what it's
like to be a college student, while emphasizing the importance of
education. We hope the students who participate in this summer
program are inspired to excel in the classroom when they return to
school in the fall."
In addition to supporting the Bridge Partnership, Santander will
also fund the new Santander Study Abroad Scholarship program at
Bridgewater to increase student
participation in expanded study or student teaching abroad
opportunities.
BSU students will be selected as Santander Scholars on a
semi-annual basis with eligibility being weighed by the degree of
their documented financial need. Depending on other available aid
sources, each Santander Scholar will be awarded $1,000 to $2,500.
"Providing and expanding educational opportunity in the region
has always been central to the mission of Bridgewater State
University," Dr. Mohler-Faria said. "Whether it's exposing
first-in-family students to the college experience through our
Bridge Program or providing a global perspective via study abroad,
our new partnership with Santander enables us to expand our
outreach efforts thereby enabling more students to experience
life-changing educational opportunities."
About Us
Bridgewater State University, the first permanently sited
institution dedicated to the preparation of teachers in the
commonwealth, is celebrating its 175th anniversary. It
has grown to become the largest state university in the
Massachusetts public higher
education system as well as the 10th largest college or
university, public or private, overall in the state with more than
11,000 graduate and undergraduate students. The comprehensive state
university in Southeastern
Massachusetts, BSU annually graduates nearly 2,500 students
in majors ranging from business to education to humanities to the
sciences. For more information, visit www.bridgew.edu or call
508.531.1000.
Santander Bank, N.A. is
one of the largest retail banks in the
United States by deposits. Its main corporate offices
are in Boston and it operates
principally in Connecticut,
Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Santander's 9,703 employees
serve its 1.8 million customers through the Bank's 703 branches,
2,092 ATMs, call centers, website and mobile app. Supervised by the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and a member of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Santander in the United States is a wholly-owned,
financially autonomous subsidiary of Banco Santander (NYSE: SAN), a
global commercial and retail bank. For more information about
Santander, visit www.santanderbank.com or call 877.768.2265.
Santander Universities was founded in 1996 to advance the
Santander Group's commitment to its communities by supporting
higher education. It provides funding for teaching and research,
international cooperation, knowledge and technology transfer,
entrepreneurial initiatives, student exchange and innovation. It
maintains more than 1,100 agreements with universities and research
centers worldwide, including 35 in the
United States through Santander
Bank. Since 1996, Santander
Universities has provided funding for 4,100 university projects
globally. Every year in the United
States, Santander Universities funds more than 1,000
scholarships and supports over 70 initiatives. For more information
about Santander Universities, visit
www.santanderbank.com/us/universities.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Eva T.
Gaffney
Director of Integrated Marketing & Communications
egaffney@bridgew.edu
508.531.1756
Nancy Orlando
Media Relations Manager
nancy.orlando@santander.us
617.757.5765
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SOURCE Santander Bank, N.A.