Southern AgCredit, ACA, formerly Land Bank South, FLCA, will award $11,500 in scholarships in 2009 to college and university students attending schools throughout the association’s 50-county territory.

Eleven scholarships of $500 each will be distributed through the Mississippi Community College Foundation (MCCF), where a Southern AgCredit Annual Scholarship was established in 2005. The foundation will provide these awards to business administration, forestry or agriculture majors at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, East Central Community College, East Mississippi Community College, Hinds Community College, Holmes Community College, Jones County Junior College, Meridian Community College, Mississippi Delta Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Pearl River Community College and Southwest Mississippi Community College. The applicants will be reviewed respectively by each of the 11 eligible colleges, which in turn will recommend a recipient to the Executive Committee of the MCCF. The committee will present the nominee to the MCCF Board of Directors for final approval.

An additional six scholarships of $1,000 each will be given to university students pursuing a degree in business or agriculture at Mississippi State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Mississippi State University, College of Business and Industry; University of Mississippi, School of Business Administration; University of Southern Mississippi, College of Business and Industry; Jackson State University, College of Business and Industry; and Alcorn State University, School of Agriculture, Research, Extension, and Applied Sciences. The applicants will be reviewed by the respective schools’ selection committees.

All scholarships will be awarded on a year-to-year basis. Students who receive a scholarship are eligible for consideration in another year; however, they must still comply with the selection criteria.

Scholarship applicants must be pursuing a degree in business, business administration, forestry or agriculture; have demonstrated academic achievement; be in good standing at their respective school; and show good moral character and demonstrated leadership ability. Preference will be given to students who are children of current stockholders of Southern AgCredit, incoming freshmen and students from the counties serviced by the association.

Interested applicants should contact the financial aid office of their college or university.