New Phuture Phoenix scholarships will carry Weyers name
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phuture Phoenix program has announced a large gift in the name of Larry Weyers, former president and chief executive officer of Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (alternatively, WPS Resources Corp.).
The “Larry L. Weyers Phuture Phoenix Scholarship,” created from a gift by the WPS Foundation, will provide 31 scholarships over five years to financially support students attending UW-Green Bay. The UW-Green Bay Phuture Phoenix program is a university/community enterprise inspiring at-risk, underprivileged youth to attend college. The program has already served thousands of local schoolchildren and is making strong gains in improving academic achievement and opportunities for the youth of the region.
Weyers has a long record of support for education. He has made charitable donations both personally and professionally to UW-Green Bay as well as performed service by lending his time, expertise and talents. Specifically, a few of the initiatives benefiting from his generosity include UW-Green Bay Institute for Learning Partnership, Weidner Center for Performing Arts, Phoenix Fund, Founders Association, the Campaign for UW-Green Bay, research grants and the Phuture Phoenix Program.
His commitment to the Green Bay community and passion for youth have long been demonstrated by the vision and commitment of his company. Under Weyers’ leadership, WPS was one of the founding companies of the Partners in Education (PIE) organization sponsored by the Brown County Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the PIE Executive Board and served a two-year term as its chairperson. He led the team through strategic planning that has strengthened the business/school partnerships that still exist today.
The University welcomes its first freshman class in fall of 2010 from the original Phuture Phoenix class. At least 20 scholarships of $1,000 each will be made available to qualified students. The scholarships are renewable each year the student attends UW-Green Bay.
Phuture Phoenix began in 2003 and has since served more than 10,000 school children from elementary schools with significant low-income populations.
