National City gives $100,000 to President’s Leadership Academy

TOLEDO, O.--National City announced today (Sept. 4) that it is donating $100,000 to Bowling Green State University to support the President’s Leadership Academy.

Established by BGSU President Sidney A. Ribeau in 1997, the academy is dedicated to preparing students from diverse backgrounds for lives of leadership. All of the 83 students currently in the academy are graduates of inner city schools or are from ethnic and economic groups historically underrepresented in all levels of leadership.

National City’s gift, the largest endowed gift to the program to date, will create a new National City Scholarship. The scholarship will provide full BGSU tuition and fees for one student in the academy every year in perpetuity.

"A good leader brings others into the process, and that is exactly what this gift will do," noted BGSU’s Ribeau. "I cannot emphasize enough the importance of providing students with the kinds of experiences that will help them develop into the leaders this nation needs," he continued. "We will be led by those we have taught. It is quite a responsibility, and National City is helping us to fulfill that responsibility at Bowling Green."

"Being a good corporate citizen is an important part of National City’s culture," said Jay C. Hall, president and CEO of National City’s Northwest Region. National City has a history of supporting educational programs throughout northwest Ohio.

"When we make investments in schools and colleges, we help ensure more productive citizens down the road and promote a stronger community," said Hall. "Our donation to Bowling Green’s President’s Leadership Academy will provide students access to an educational experience they may not have been able to have without this kind of support."

The President’s Leadership Academy focuses on four major educational themes: preparing students who will lead with integrity on campus and in their larger communities after graduation; encouraging passion and talent for value-centered leadership; sponsoring outreach programs that enable BGSU student leaders to share their expertise with students in middle and secondary schools, and creating a network of people from diverse corporate, non-profit and governmental organizations to help promote education for leadership.