Olympic Athletes Are Among the First Scholarships Awarded as Part of a New
   Western Governors' Initiative to Provide 1,000 Scholarships to Teachers

    SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Western Governors' Foundation
today announced the Teachers' Legacy Scholarships program, an Olympic legacy
for classrooms, instead of ski slopes.  The new partnership among governors,
business leaders and educators aims to provide 1,000 Western Governors
University scholarships to teachers.
    The governors of Utah, Wyoming and Montana were in Salt Lake City to
announce the first 170 scholarships to teachers who work in 10 Western states.
They were joined by representatives from leading corporations and from the
U.S. Department of Education.
    "The Teachers' Legacy Scholarships program represents a partnership
between Western governors and private industry," said Governor Judy Martz of
Montana, Vice Chairman of the Western Governors' Foundation.  "This
scholarship program will provide teachers throughout the Western states an
opportunity to further their education and enhance their skills at Western
Governors University."
    Two Olympic athletes -- who are also teachers by trade -- are among the
recipients of the scholarships awarded today.  Torrey Folk, a U.S. rowing
athlete who competed in the 2000 Olympic Games, teaches third grade in San
Diego, California.  Jim Gruenwald -- a Greco-Roman wrestler and high school
math teacher -- competed in the 2000 Olympic Games and is currently training
for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
    The scholarships were announced by Governor Martz, who is also a former
Olympic speed skater.
    Farmers Insurance, a major sponsor of the Teachers' Legacy Scholarships
program, emphasized the importance of the private sector's participation.
"Our classroom teachers -- their development and enrichment -- is important to
our country and to Farmers," said Martin Feinstein, President and CEO of
Farmers Group, Inc.  "Using technology, Western Governors University will help
teachers to advance their educations, directly impacting those students in
their classrooms and improving the educational quality of our schools."
    "Western Governors University enables students to custom-fit their
educations to their circumstances, by giving credit for competencies they have
achieved, and using the tools of technology to make additional learning
available from any location," said Governor Mike Leavitt of Utah, one of the
governors who helped found the University.
    PacifiCorp is another major sponsor of the Teachers' Legacy Scholarships
program, through its corporate donation and through its Foundation for
Learning.  "Our company is increasingly reliant on technology, and we know the
importance of having a trained and qualified workforce that can fill
technology jobs in the future," said Bill Landels, Executive Vice President of
PacifiCorp.  "PacifiCorp employees are enrolled in Western Governors
University, and are expanding their professional frontiers through this
different approach to learning.  We support the Teachers' Legacy Scholarships
program because of the benefits it provides to teachers and classrooms
throughout the West."  PacifiCorp serves customers as Utah Power in Utah and
Idaho, and as Pacific Power in Oregon, California, Washington and Wyoming.
    Corporate sponsors will fund the Teachers' Scholarship Program through a
tax-deductible donation of $15,000 per year for the next four years.  Each
$15,000 contribution will fund two scholarships.  Interested teachers should
contact Western Governors University to find out more about the scholarship
program.
    Additional corporate sponsors of the scholarship program include:
American Trucking Association; AOL Time Warner; Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation; ChevronTexaco; Citrix Systems, Inc.; Duke Energy; El Paso Corp.;
McGraw-Hill; Microsoft; Sun Microsystems; 3Com; and Thomson Learning.

    Meeting a National Need
    Over the next 10 years, the U.S. will need two million new teachers.
Current programs are not training enough new teachers, and significant teacher
shortages are projected, particularly in math, science and reading.
Furthermore, 82 percent of teachers report not having the time or the
resources outside their regular teaching duties to learn how to use and
implement technology into their teaching (Education Week on the Web, May 10,
2001).  As a result, students are receiving inadequate education in these
important topics.
    Teachers who are interested in furthering their education face many
challenges.  Many are working full time, have families to care for, do not
have the financial means to fund an advanced degree, or are otherwise unable
to attend traditional university classes.  "Programs like the Teachers' Legacy
Scholarships fulfill a necessary and vital need to provide teachers the means
to continue their educations and receive the appropriate credentials for their
investment," said Governor Jim Geringer of Wyoming.

    Western Governors University (WGU)
    WGU is an accredited university founded by the 21-member Western
Governors' Association, and is currently supported by more than 20 corporate
and foundation partners and the U.S. Department of Education.  The mission of
WGU is to provide distance-learning resources and establish a competency-based
learning model to meet the education needs of working professionals.
    WGU's competency-based degrees allow teachers to tailor a program to their
specific needs.  Those with prior work or academic experience can apply that
learning towards the degree, and avoid taking courses in areas they have
already studied.  WGU degrees are also Internet-delivered, providing teachers
with accessibility, flexibility, and convenience.

    Western Governors' Foundation
    The Western Governors' Foundation is the source of capital for projects
and programs of the Western Governors' Association and for organizations and
individuals that serve the governors.  By accepting grants and donations, the
Foundation funds WGA programs and policy development, including the Teachers'
Legacy Scholarships.

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