FAU's OSD Receives Record Scholarship Funding

Florida Atlantic University’s Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) has received more than $250,000 in scholarship funding for the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semesters, the most ever awarded to OSD.

FAU's Office for Students with Disabilities has received more than $250,000 in scholarship funding for the 2015-16 school year.


Florida Atlantic University’s Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) has received more than $250,000 in scholarship funding for the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semesters, the most ever awarded to OSD.

FAU received more funding than any other state university in Florida this year, and the award is $100,000 more than what FAU’s OSD received in 2014.

Michelle Shaw, director of FAU’s OSD, said she originally thought they received a total of $125,849, until a call came explaining that number was just for the fall semester.

“When I first heard we had received $125,849, I was happy with that number,” she said. “Then the Board of Governors called and said we were getting that amount each semester, I was floored.”

The funding, which came from the Florida Board of Governors, the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, and the FAU Foundation, will go to students applying for the Theodore R. and Vivian M. Johnson Scholarships. The scholarships are given to students with disabilities who are attending one of Florida’s 11 state universities.

“The Johnson Scholarship helps relieve the financial responsibilities of attending college by providing them funds to pay their tuition, housing, books, and other college supplies,” said Shaw. “It allows students to focus on the most important aspect of college, which is learning.”

Javier Hernandez is a junior at FAU and a recipient of the Johnson Scholarship.

“Without the Johnson Scholarship I would not be able to afford to pursue my dream of becoming an architect,” he said. “This scholarship will help me live out my dream of traveling to third-world countries and building self-sustaining homes.”

For more information on FAU’s Office for Students with Disabilities, visit osd.fau.edu.

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