The W.J.ApplesMcClelland/White Hall Farm Horticulture Scholarship will now have additional funds to help provide scholarships for horticulture students in West Virginia University’s Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.

JimApplesMcClelland established the scholarship in 2004 and has made a significant additional contribution to the fund.

McClelland is credited with being one of the first growers to bring the Fuji apple to western Pennsylvania. He briefly studied agriculture at WVU in 1938 before leaving to join his family’s farming operations.

Mr. McClelland wants to help the Davis College encourage and reward our students who are pursuing a degree in horticulture. That’s one of the motivating factors behind this scholarship,said Barton Baker, director of the Davis College’s Division Plant and Soil Sciences.

The scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance for undergraduate and graduate students who show academic promise.

Endowed scholarships allow us to help worthy students with the financial burden of going to college,Baker said.When students receive scholarships, they have fewer loans and are better able to participate in other activities that will help them in their careers beyond WVU .

The first scholarship from the fund will be awarded for the 2006-2007 academic school year.

WVU ’s horticulture program is part of the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences of the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences. Students pursuing an undergraduate major or a graduate degree are eligible for the scholarship. The Davis College also offers an academic minor in horticulture.

The McClelland scholarship was established through the West Virginia University Foundation. The WVU Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of West Virginia University.