Richard T. Liddicoat Scholarship Campaign Goes Online

GIA makes it easier than ever to contribute

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Oct. 23, 2009 – The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has announced that the Richard T. Liddicoat (RTL) Scholarship Fund is underway.

Donors who want to contribute to the RTL Scholarship Fund will find it easier, more convenient and more environmentally sensitive to give online.

“The RTL Scholarship Fund honors the essential contributions Mr. Liddicoat made in the industry and the lives he touched,” said GIA President and CEO Donna Baker. “By awarding full scholarships to Graduate Gemologist diploma students, the fund continues his legacy of education, scholarship and integrity.”

Anyone can give to the fund, which awards two full annual scholarships, one to an On-Campus student and the other to a Distance Education student enrolled in the GIA Graduate Gemologist diploma program. The recipients will be announced at GIA’s Alumni Dinner Dance and Auction at the Tucson trade shows in February 2010.

More than $100,000 has been raised for the RTL Scholarship Fund since it was established. It has provided the opportunity for 12 Graduate Gemologist students to foster their gemological education, according to GIA’s Institute Relations Manager Bev Berthoty.

One hundred percent of the contributions go directly to the fund. Contributors have the option to be recognized on the GIA Web site as an RTL Scholarship Fund donor.

To make an online contribution to the RTL Scholarship Fund, visit www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=95-3797687.

For more general information about the fund, visit www.gia.edu/about-gia/support-gia/ways-to-give/rtl-scholarship-fund/index.html.