Bryant University and The Papitto Foundation have expanded their ongoing partnership with a program to match scholarship funds to newly enrolled Bryant students who have participated in the Foundation’s Read to Succeed program.
Created in 2008, Read to Succeed is dedicated to increasing literacy rates, reducing summer learning loss, and providing an important early pathway to academic achievement and college readiness for underserved and predominantly minority children in South Providence. Students enroll in the free program as early as third and fourth grade, and earn scholarships for reading and comprehension achievements. Bryant has matched all scholarships awarded by Read to Succeed for students who were admitted to the University’s Class of 2024, up to $6,000.
“This gift will give Bryant students a chance to build a brighter future for themselves.”
“Helping students learn to read at an early age builds a strong foundation for success, so when it’s time for college, they are ready,” said Michelle Cloutier, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Bryant. “We are glad to be supporting the important work of Read to Succeed, and we look forward to welcoming future Bryant Bulldogs through this partnership.”
Additionally, Bryant University recently received a $1 million gift to the Ralph R. Papitto ’47, ’87H Scholarship Fund at the direction of Papitto Foundation Chairwoman Barbara A. Papitto ’83, ’85 MBA, ’97H. In order to address the immediate needs of students who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, $200,000 from the gift will be used for tuition aid to ensure that qualifying students can attend or remain enrolled at Bryant during the current academic year. The remaining $800,000 of the gift will be used to endow the fund in perpetuity, for the benefit of high-achieving students with demonstrated financial hardship from the Providence area and other Rhode Island communities.
Barbara Papitto says that the gift is a reflection of her and her late husband Ralph’s longtime advocacy for expanding access to education. “Ralph and I have always believed in helping the underdogs, those who are struggling to improve their lives,” she says. “This gift will give Bryant students a chance to build a brighter future for themselves.”
The Papittos have been longtime Bryant benefactors, supporting numerous initiatives including generous leadership gifts to Bryant’s historic capital campaign Expanding the World of Opportunity: The Campaign for Bryant’s Bold Future.
