P&G brands Royal Oils by Head & Shoulders and Gold Series from Pantene have announced their support of a new scholarship to grow Black female innovators in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Together with CVS, P&G will award $200,000 in scholarships to women pursuing a degree in STEM at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and United Negro College Fund (UNCF)-member schools.
The Rooted in Science scholarships will be administered by UNCF. Sixteen scholarship recipients will be awarded $5,000 a year for up to two years. To apply, please visit https://uncf.org/scholarships.
Applications will be open from November 15, 2020, through January 4, 2021, and recipients will be announced on January 28, 2021.
Scholarship funds are intended to help college juniors and seniors with expenses associated with the pursuit of their degrees.
Current statistics show 45.9% of Black students enrolled in four-year public institutions complete their degrees in six years. This is because 65% of Black college students are independent, which means they must balance obtaining a degree with full-time work, family responsibilities, and more.
“Providing these resources to young, Black women studying STEM is deeply important to P&G as we hope to help further diversify the field and pave the way for future generations,” said Lela Coffey, Vice President P&G Multicultural Hair Care. “STEM and diversity are at the core of our brands and ensuring representation of Black women in these roles is essential for developing future innovations in beauty and personal care products that continue to support and reflect the needs of modern Black women.”
Gold Series from Pantene was formulated by Black scientists, PhDs, dermatologists, and stylists, and provides superior moisture benefits. Through decades of cutting-edge innovation and technology, plus on-going research of textured hair, Royal Oils by Head & Shoulders was tested on African-ancestry hair for scalp and hair health.
“During our 75 years of working together, P&G has been a very reliable partner for UNCF,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO, UNCF. “With the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the United States and hitting communities of color particularly hard, we need as many students studying STEM fields as possible, as those careers are likely to be the bulk of our future pandemic frontliners—our future doctors, nurses, teachers and technologists. This new scholarship program helps fill a growing gap that HBCU students and other Black students have often fallen behind in due to a lack of funds. Thank you, P&G, for helping to open more doors to better futures for us all.”
You can stop by your local CVS to learn more about the scholarships and Royal Oils and Gold Series products.
