The Valspar Corporation and North Dakota State University (NDSU) have announced two new scholarship programs to provide opportunities for students studying coatings and polymeric materials at NDSU. The Valspar Foundation will contribute $20,000 to support up to five graduate student scholarships and a new program for Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). The scholarship program is administered through the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at NDSU and coordinated through NDSU’s Development Foundation.

A selection committee consisting of NDSU professors and Valspar’s technical leaders is pleased to announce the first Valspar Graduate Scholars Program awards to Olena Kudina, Lviv, Ukraine; Casey Orgon, Bemidji, Minnesota, USA; Adlina Paramarta, Java, Indonesia; Andriy Popadyuk, Lviv, Ukraine; and Alison Rohly, Lino Lakes, Minnesota, USA. Each graduate student will receive $3,000, supporting the students’ studies at NDSU’s Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials for the 2014 academic year.

“These scholarships will further our relationship and build our pipeline of talent by supporting students to develop insights into fundamental performance drivers of coatings and polymers and provide them an experience associated with an industrial environment,” said Cynthia Arnold, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Valspar. “Valspar and NDSU have a long history of technical collaboration. We recognize their deep technical expertise in many disciplines associated with coatings research.”

“We appreciate Valspar’s generous support and commitment to promote applied science and education in the fields of coatings and polymers,” said Dean Webster, chair of the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at NDSU. “Their contribution and engagement will allow us to provide more academic and career development opportunities for outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. It is planned that the scholars will visit Valspar during the spring semester to discuss their research projects and to find out more about Valspar and the coatings industry.”