EDITORS: Attached photo is jpeg and cutline follows end of release. A pronunciation guide follows end of release. A radio actuality of Dr. Hawkins is available at http://www.troy.edu/news/radios. Other notes follow end of release.

TROY – A global education was made more affordable for Troy University students through the establishment of a scholarship program with the University’s Malaysian educational partner.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed last week in Malaysia, five full-tuition scholarships will be awarded to TROY students who want to study at Putra International College in Melaka near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“These scholarships will provide great opportunities for our American students to study abroad,” said TROY Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr. “Our graduating class in Malaysia had seven nations represented, so our students would benefit from their exposure to different cultures in a beautiful setting.”

The awards are made available through a donation by Dr. Tang Chai Yoong, president of Putra International Collect and an international entrepreneur. Dr. Yoong announced his intent to create the scholarships last month during his visit to Troy, during which he was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

Dr. Hawkins signed the agreement while in Malaysia for TROY’s first commencement exercises in the region where 54 students from seven Asian countries graduated with business administration degrees. Several students were participants in a “two-plus-two” program between TROY and Qingdao University of Science and Technology in the People’s Republic of China. The students spend the first two years at their home university in China and then attend TROY’s campus in Malaysia to complete their degree programs.

Currently, the scholarships are available only to students majoring in business. Dr. Hawkins said, however, as TROY and Putra expand the curriculum in Malaka, students from other academic disciplines will have the opportunity to pursue the scholarship.

Troy University operates four campuses in Alabama in Troy, Dothan, Montgomery and Phenix City and more than 60 campuses outside Alabama in 16 other U.S. states, one U.S. territory and 12 nations. Troy University’s campuses outside Alabama do not receive state appropriations.

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CUTLINE: Fan JingLu, Troy University’s “best student” at its Putra International College site in Melaka, Malaysia, receives her degree from TROY Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr., and Datuk Ong Tee Keat, Malaysia’s deputy minister of education, in commencement ceremonies in May. (TROY photo)

Pronunciation guide is as follows:

Melaka (Ma-lock-uh)

Putra (Poo-trah)

Qindao (Chin-Tau)

Yoong (Yung)

Cutline Note: “Datuk” is a federal title has been conferred since 1965 and limited to recipients of PJN (Panglima Jasa Negara) of which there may be up to 200 living at any one time, and PSD (Panglima Setia Diraja) of which there may be up to 200 living at any one time. The PJN and PSN rank 9th and 10th respectively in the rank of federal awards in Malaysia.

Actuality Transcript:

Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr., Chancellor of Troy University

2 minutes; cuts can be made for shorter sound bites

Troy University is committed to preparing its students for leadership roles in the global economy. And to this end we are seeking to build bridges so that more of our students will have the opportunity to study abroad. We’re delighted that Putra International College, our partner in Malaysia, has established five scholarships that will now be available to business majors from TROY who want to experience time outside this country. These tuition-free scholarships will now make it more affordable for students to study abroad in a beautiful setting and in a very safe place in Melaka, Malaysia. We are indebted to our partner and president of Putra International College, Dr. Tang Chai Yoong, for making this investment in TROY students.