Newswise — Indiana University's Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation have established the Ryan White Legacy Scholarship in honor of Ryan White, the rural Indiana 13-year-old who contracted HIV through tainted blood products given for his hemophilia.
White died from AIDS 20 years ago, on April 8, 1990, a few months prior to his intended enrollment at IU Bloomington. During his courageous struggle to live a normal life, White gained national recognition as an advocate for AIDS/HIV education and anti-discrimination efforts after being expelled from school because of his illness. The scholarship will be given to IU Bloomington students pursuing a Master of Public Health degree in the School of HPER, with preference to students studying AIDS/STD prevention or sexual health. The number, amount and recipients of the scholarship will be determined by the School of HPER's Scholarship Committee.
"I'm so excited that IU is doing this," said Jeanne White Ginder, Ryan White's mother. "Ryan was hoping so much to go to IU, and now he will be an everlasting part of the university."
On Friday, Ginder is one of three speakers participating in "AIDS Education: 20 Years After Ryan White," a commemorative event at IU Bloomington that both honors Ryan White's influence on AIDS/HIV education and anti-discrimination efforts and offers an update on other such efforts in the U.S. Other speakers include Dr. Jill Waibel, childhood friend and founder of the IU Dance Marathon fundraiser for Riley Hospital for Children; and Douglas Kirby, senior research scientist at ETR Associates and nationally known AIDS/HIV education expert. For more information about the event, visit http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/13930.html.
Donations to the scholarship can be made through RCAP Web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~aids, or by contacting Natalie Kubat, School of HPER development associate, at 812-855-7891 or [email protected].
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