Kawasaki continuing scholarship support of Northwest students, Visiting Writers Series

Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corporation, an economic driver in the northwest Missouri region for more than 30 years and the county’s largest employer, is continuing its support of Northwest Missouri State University through funding to assist students and programs.

This spring, Kawasaki donated $40,000 to the Northwest Foundation that will help support two scholarship programs as well as the University’s Visiting Writers Series.

“Kawasaki is a tremendous partner, supporter and friend of Northwest and the entire Bearcat community,” Jill Brown, the director of corporate relations and a major gifts officer at Northwest, said. “Their investment in student learning is greatly appreciated and will have ripple effects for generations of learners.”

Dr. Clarence Green, who served as Northwest's interim president during the 2022-23 academic year, shakes a hand of Tim Melvin, manager of human resources at Kawasaki, this spring during meeting to celebrate Kawasaki's continued support of the University. (Northwest Missouri State University photo)

A gift of $25,000 from Kawasaki will support its Kawasaki Kids: Powering Your Potential Scholarship for Northwest students. Launched for the 2019-20 academic year, the scholarship is available to full-time freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors at Northwest who maintain a minimum grade-point average of 2.0 and who are dependents of employees at the manufacturer’s Maryville, Boonville or Lincoln facilities. Thirteen students will receive the scholarship for 2023-24, bringing the total number of awards to 65 since the scholarship’s inception.

Kawasaki also provided $10,000 to continue the Kawasaki Powering Dreams Scholarship, which assists Northwest students who are “caught in the middle” academically and financially. The scholarship, which has been awarded to 44 students since it was established in 2016, is administered by the University’s Office of Financial Assistance based on its comprehensive view of students who will benefit most from the scholarship. Thus, the scholarship amount and number of students awarded varies annually depending on need.

“Northwest is committed to helping students graduate with as little debt as possible, and the Kawasaki Powering Dreams Scholarship is an important element in achieving this goal,” Brown said. “Students come first at Northwest. No college-bound student who is willing to work hard should be prevented from achieving his or her academic goals.”

Additionally, Kawasaki annually provides $5,000 to support Northwest’s Visiting Writers Series, an initiative of the Department of Language, Literature and Writing that brings nationally recognized fiction writers, poets and writers of creative nonfiction to campus for presentations and readings throughout the academic year.

Kawasaki’s support of the University through the Northwest Foundation, as well as support of Bearcat athletics programs, has totaled more than $1 million since 1989. The company also has supported such efforts as a STEM workshop for area educators and scholarships for students studying abroad.

“We try to do everything we can to support community and certainly Northwest,” Tim Melvin, manager of human resources at Kawasaki and a 1984 graduate of the University, said. “When you have a community, especially one the size of Maryville, we’re all in this together. We’ve got to support each other in the community – or the community won’t be around very long.”

The Northwest Foundation, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, develops and stewards philanthropic resources for the benefit of Northwest Missouri State University and its students. For more information or to make a gift to support Northwest, contact the Office of University Advancement at 660.562.1248 or advance@nwmissouri.edu.