The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Office of Cooperative Education Internship and Placement Office has announced that Master of Science in Information Quality (MSIQ) student Ramya Deepthi Babbepalli has been awarded one of two Jesse Mason Gail Reede Jones M.D. Endowed scholarships for the year 2015 in the amount of $2,500. Ramya, along with Geology major Maryevalyn Wren, were the first winners of this prestigious award.
To be eligible, students must have completed an internship through Cooperative Education Internship and Placement Office and be recommended by their internship sponsors. Ramya’s internship was with Black Oak Analytics, Inc. developing systems for the analysis of social media, and Maryevalyn served as a geographic information system (GIS) intern at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.
The scholarship was established in honor of Jesse Mason and his wife Gail Reede Jones, M.D. and in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the UALR Cooperative Education Program. Mr. Jesse Mason is the Director and Founder of the Office of Cooperative Education Internship and Placement Office. The initial endowment for the scholarship was through a fundraiser event held at the Governor’s Mansion on October 24, 2013. The event raised more than $75,000.
The purpose of the Jesse Mason and Gail Reede Jones, M.D., Endowed Scholarship is to provide assistance for any education related expenses, including but not limited to tuition, books, fees and room and board, for students at UALR who have already met the requirements of and been admitted into the Cooperative Education Program. This year’s winners were selected by the Scholarship Committee of the Cooperative Education Program comprising Jerry Wild (Co-Chair), Kathy Wild (Co-chair), John Hendon, Sonya Schmidt Murphy, Joanna Nelson, John Talburt, and Mitsy Tharp.
The Information Quality Graduate Program was established in 2006 and has since been preparing its students to excel in their academic life as well as professional careers. Several IQ students have been awarded numerous scholarships since the inception of the program. It is the mission of the Information Quality Program to provide its students with the highest quality of education coupled with the knowledge about the latest trends in the industry. The UALR Information Quality Graduate Program is the only one of its kind in the United States and is considered the world’s leader in information quality education.
