Lunder Foundation grant will boost KVCC scholarship endowment

Courtesy / Kennebec Valley Community College Students at Kennebec Valley Community College take part in a lineworker course in 2018. The college, in Fairfield, has received a $1 million grant from the Lunder Foundation for its KVCC Foundation scholarships to help students in need.

Write a Comment

By Staff

A $1 million grant to Kennebec Valley Community College from the Lunder Foundation will boost a fund that awards need-based scholarships, particularly to students whose families are connected to the Dexter Shoe Co.

The foundation, founded by Peter and Paula Lunder, strengthens the KVCC Foundation Lunder Scholars Endowment, which helps to reduce financial barriers for students, the college said in a news release. Since its inception in 1991, the KVCC Foundation has provided more than $2.2 million in scholarship awards to more than 2,500 students, including 256 students in the current academic year.

"I am deeply touched by the kindness and foresight of the Lunder Foundation to invest in our students who graduate to become the backbone of our local communities and economy," said Richard Hopper, KVCC president.

Hopper said the donation "makes it possible for KVCC to continue offering comprehensive financial aid precisely when our population is facing record high unemployment and other hardships brought on by the pandemic."

He said that the availability of scholarships can provide Maine’s students not only with expanded job opportunities, but also with access to higher degrees, experiential learning and workforce credentials. The college has a variety of workforce credential courses that are designed to get students quickly into high-paying jobs that allow them to continue to study for a degree while working.

Kevin Gillis, president of the Lunder Foundation, said the foundation is excited about the progress and advancements award recipients make in their education and in the Maine workforce.

"We are happy to support students in central Maine, and particularly former Dexter Shoe Co. employees and their families for generations to come," he said.

Dexter Shoe was founded by Harold Alfond in Dexter in 1956 and at its peak the manufacturer turned out 7.5 million pairs of shoes a year. Alfond sold the company to Berkshire-Hathaway in 1993, but Dexter closed in 2001, putting about 800 people out of work, with a deep impact on the economy of western Penobscot and eastern Piscataquis counties.

KVCC has about 2,500 full and part-time students, and two campuses in Fairfield — its main campus, on 70 acres of Exit 132 of Interstate 95, and the 600-acre Alfond Campus in the Hinkley section of the town on U.S. Route 201. Tuition is $96 per credit hour for Maine residents, the lowest tuition rate in New England, according to college officials. The KVCC Foundation scholarships are among multiple financial aid options available for prospective and current students.