Lowell couple gives UMass $30,000 for scholarships to study in Lisbon

Posted by O Jornal Staff on Feb 10, 2012 in Community News | Comments Off

This post is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)

DARTMOUTH — Thirty students will get some financial help to live, study and learn in Lisbon, Portugal, thanks to a couple of distinguished Lowell entrepreneurs.
Elisia and Mark Saab — co-founders of Advanced Polymers in 1989, an industry leader in the medical technology field — presented the University of Massachusetts with $30,000 for the creation of a Study Abroad Scholarship Fund for 2012-2014 in their name.
Scholarships of $1,000 each will be awarded to students enrolled in the recently established “UMass in Lisbon,” a study abroad program featuring both UMass and Portuguese faculty teaching UMass social sciences and humanities courses.
“This generous gift from Elisia and Mark Saab puts living and learning in one of the world’s most dynamic cities within reach for students from the UMass system and beyond,” said Prof. Michael Baum, director of UMass in Lisbon and Chair of the Political Science Department at UMass Dartmouth.
Participants may spend either a semester or year in Lisbon for the same price they would pay to study on campus at UMass Dartmouth, including the cost of housing, a reduced-price meal plan, transport in Lisbon, field trips, and a Portuguese cell phone.
However, students must still pay round-trip airfare, passport, visa and spending money. The Saab scholarships are designed to fill this gap, removing remaining financial obstacles to student participation.
Scholarships will be awarded to students based on past academic excellence, a statement of financial need, and a reference from at least one professor.
The UMass in Lisbon Award Committee expects to offer up to five $1,000 Saab scholarships per semester.
The Saabs are longtime supporters of the University of Massachusetts, having previously donated $750,000 for UMass Lowell’s Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center (ETIC) and funded laboratory renovations, new equipment and materials, and other scholarships, including the Mark and Elisia Saab Family Scholarship and also the Saab Family Endowed Scholarship.
To learn about the Saab scholarships and UMass in Lisbon visit www.umassd.
edu/lisbon.