A new University of Iowa program to bolster student scholarship support for Iowa resident undergraduates is the cornerstone of $260 million in student success initiatives underway at the university.

The program, Golden Pledge: A Presidential Partnership for Student Success, will match the payout from new, privately funded endowed scholarships of $100,000 or more. It will dramatically enhance the more than $154 million in scholarship support already committed for University of Iowa students.

“At the University of Iowa, student success is our top priority,” says UI President Sally Mason. “Today, given the economic pressures being placed on the state’s college-bound high school students—and as public universities are being asked to become more entrepreneurial and self-supporting—we need to continue to develop new ways to increase scholarship funding and make public higher education more accessible and affordable.”

Mason committed to match these new scholarship dollars through a fund established in the UI Foundation to support student scholarships. The program will run through calendar year 2017 and is designed to significantly increase the number of scholarships for Iowans.

“The Golden Pledge program is part of student success priorities totaling approximately $260 million that are part of our comprehensive campaign for the university, which will be announced next spring,” says Lynette Marshall, president and CEO of the UI Foundation. “This initiative will create an incentive for our generous donors, and will double the impact of their support over the next five years.”

The UI acknowledges the UI Foundation as the preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the university. For more information, visit www.uifoundation.org.