It was a record-setting night for the Collin College Foundation, Inc. during its annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony, Aug. 6 at the Embassy Suites Frisco.

The Foundation set a college record by awarded 365 scholarships totaling about $280,000. 

“One of the greatest joys of being president of a college is knowing that you are not just helping students attain a college degree. It is knowing that the education they are receiving will come back to help our communities,” Dr. Cary Israel said.

In 2007-08, Collin College students received $17.5 million in financial aid and scholarships, an 86 percent increase from 1999-00 when $2.4 million was awarded.

This year, 589 applications for scholarships were turned into the Foundation compared to 509 last year. 

“As the cost of higher education at universities continues to rise, more and more families are finding it prohibitive to afford a college education. I pledge that we will be increasing the opportunities in the future,” Ron Johnson, chair of the Collin College Foundation, Inc., said. “Although we have a full house tonight, we will be establishing new giving opportunities and securing new contributions that will allow us to help even more students in the coming year.

For more information about giving or scholarships, contact the Collin College Foundation, Inc. at 972.599.3145 or visit http://foundation.ccccd.org.

For more photographs from the evening, visit the Scholarships Ceremony photo gallery here.