Tougaloo, MS- Tougaloo College has partnered with a group of Mississippi legislators to launch its T3 Scholarship Program. The new fundraising initiative will raise dollars that will be used exclusively for scholarships for deserving young students. More than 90% of the College's students receive some form of financial assistance.

"Tougaloo has a reputation for taking those students who deserve, but cannot afford, a college education and transforming them into successful, productive citizens, who are committed to the betterment of society," says Tougaloo College President Beverly W. Hogan. "They understand that the degree they are earning is not only for their own personal betterment, but they also realize that they have a larger commitment to the society as a whole."

A group of legislators are rallying their friends and supporters to contribute at a level of $3,000 or higher (hence the T3) to support student scholarships at the small, liberal arts college in north Jackson. The historically black college was founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Society (AMA) and has produced more than 40% of the state's African-American attorneys and educators (teachers, principals, school superintendents and administrators).

The 2008 commencement exercise at the College yielded 86 graduates with a 3.0 GPA or higher in a class of 131. Over 65% of Tougaloo College graduates attend graduate or professional schools immediately upon receiving their undergraduate degrees. The College also has longstanding early identification programs with Brown University (Warren Alpert Medical School) and Boston University Medical School, as well as with Tufts University Dental School.

The T3 Scholarship Program's Honorary Committee includes The Honorable Reuben Anderson; Chairman of the Tougaloo College Board of Trustees, LeRoy Walker, Jr.; The Honorable Willie Bailey; The Honorable Fred Banks; The Honorable George Flaggs, Jr.; The Honorable Robert Johnson; The Honorable Willie Perkins; The Honorable Rufus Straughter; and the Honorable Percy Watson.

Founded in 1869, Tougaloo College is a private, historically black, coeducational four-year liberal arts institution, located on the northern edge of Jackson, Mississippi. Known nationally as "The Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi," the College is led by its first female and 13th president, Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan. Dr. Hogan is a 1973 graduate of the College and a native Mississippian. Under her visionary leadership, the College has increased its enrollment by 12% and boasts a student retention rate of 68%.

Tougaloo College ranks among the top 50 U.S. institutions whose graduates earn PHDs in science and engineering disciplines and among the top 15 historically black colleges and universities in the graduation of females with undergraduate degrees in the physical sciences. The College has produced more graduates who have completed their PhD degrees through the UNCF-Mellon Doctoral Fellowship Program than any other institution in the nation.

Listed as one of the Best Colleges in the Southeast by The Princeton Review (2007 and 2008 editions), the highest ranking Mississippi HBCU on U.S. News and World Report's list of "America's Best Black College" (2008) and the only Mississippi institution ranked among the top 20 liberal arts institutions in the nation by Washington Monthly (2007), 66% of its graduates enter professional and graduate schools immediately after graduation. Tougaloo College is the leading producer of African American health professionals, including over 40% of the physicians and dentists, practicing in the state of Mississippi. Among its graduates are more than one-third of the state's African American attorneys and educators including teachers, principals, school superintendents, college/university faculty and administrators.