Connell Persico Scholarship to Support Alliant's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Students

San Francisco – February 13, 2006 --  An endowment fund that will support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students has been established in the name of Dr. Connell Persico, an educator and administrator who has been affiliated with the California School for Professional Psychology (CSPP) and Alliant International University for more than 30 years.

So far, more than $55,000 has been collected for the endowment. The endowment is expected to generate an annual award of at least $2,500 to one student each academic year.

The award will be given to a student “working in or working to create a positive LGBT organization or environment,” Persico said. The recipient will be selected by a panel including an LGBT faculty member and LGBT alumni. The first scholarship will be awarded in April 2006.

Dr. Persico, who established the endowment, said, “I wanted to show my support for LGBT students working in the community.”

“Alliant should serve as a beacon to LGBT students interested in psychology, organizational studies and education,” Persico said. “Its curriculum is inclusive, its faculty is diverse, and its mission is one of human rights and social justice. Back in the 1970s, Alliant was at the forefront in the inclusion of sexual orientation within its non-discrimination clause and in establishing a safe and supportive climate for LGBT students. In the late 1980s, it quietly implemented domestic partner benefits for its LGBT faculty and staff. In its passionate commitment to multiculturalism, it has always included sexual orientation as a key component.”

Persico will retire in the fall of 2006 after 30 years of service Alliant, having served as Provost of the CSPP’s Los Angeles campus as well as Alliant’s systemwide Senior Vice President. Professor Persico, who holds a PhD in education from Stanford University, now teaches in Alliant’s Graduate School of Education.

Alliant is the product of the 2001 merger of two highly innovative institutions: the California School of Professional Psychology, the first freestanding institution in the US dedicated to training clinical psychologists; and United States International University, which was a pioneer in multicultural and international education. Alliant has campuses in Fresno, Irvine, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and Mexico City. Alliant has provided an educational home for many nontraditional students and others who have not been welcomed into other institutions.  The university enrolls close to 3,600 students in education, psychology, organizational studies and business programs.