Scholarships offered to slain soldiers’ kids

PHILADELPHIA – Widener University, a former military college, announced Tuesday it would offer four full scholarships a year to children who have had a parent killed in action in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The program, to start in the fall, will provide $25,000 a year to each recipient. The students will be eligible to receive aid for up to eight semesters, or until they complete the undergraduate program.

School officials expect the number of applicants to be small since many of the children of those killed in action are very young.

“It’s most likely that this would not have a great impact for perhaps another decade,” Widener President James T. Harris III said.

Mark Malmberg, a spokesman for Scholarship America, which manages about 1,000 scholarship funds sponsored by other groups and individuals, said he was unaware of another scholarship program like Widener’s.

Located in suburban Philadelphia, Widener has more than 6,200 students.

A committee led by retired Army Gen. John Tilelli, an alumnus and trustee, will review applications and oversee the program.