BANKRUPT school to help students, faculty through new foundation

<br>ENID, Okla. (AP) _ An Enid university that went bankrupt several years ago has found a way to help students through a new foundation. <br><br>Officials recently announced that Phillips University has

Tuesday, May 15th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ENID, Okla. (AP) _ An Enid university that went bankrupt several years ago has found a way to help students through a new foundation.

Officials recently announced that Phillips University has about $3 million left after paying all its debts. The money will be used to establish the Phillips University Legacy Foundation.

``We are pleased that we are able to continue the legacy,'' Gene Challenner, president of the foundation board of directors, said Monday.

Officers at the 90-year-old school filed for bankruptcy in April 1998 and the university closed later that year. The foundation was organized by the Phillips University Alumni and Friends Association, said Challenner, a Phillips alumnus.

Beginning in the 2002-03 school year, the foundation should have enough money to award a dozen $5,000 scholarships to undergraduate students attending Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)-affiliated colleges, or to faculty of those institutions. Challenner said the idea was to give scholarships to students who fit the profile of the typical Phillips University student.

Former Phillips University faculty and staff also are eligible for the scholarships.

The initial funds will be placed in an endowment fund, and the foundation will give scholarships from earned interest, Challenner said. Officials hope to offer more scholarships each year.

In the fall, the foundation will offer one-time grants to students who were enrolled in the university during its last two years of operation but did not graduate from Phillips.

Students of the Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa are not eligible.

The foundation also will make a $20,000 donation to the Denny Price Memorial Foundation of the Enid Community Foundation, officials said.