College of Southern Maryland President Dr. Brad Gottfried, right, accepted a check for $2,500 from Cove Point Natural Historic Trust Board of Directors President Michael R. Rudy for the creation of the Ruth Mathes Scholarship for students working toward an associate’s degree in biological or environmental sciences. (Submitted photo)
LA PLATA, Md. (November 2, 2011)—College of Southern Maryland biology and physical science students will have additional funds to grow and flourish academically thanks to the generosity of The Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust (CPNHT) Ruth Mathes Scholarship Program.
The scholarship is named for CPNHT founder and president Ruth Mathes, who established the trust to promote, preserve and protect ecologically sensitive sites at Cove Point and in the surrounding vicinity of Southern Maryland through land conservation, scientific research and environmental education. Mathes was a career state and federal environmental protection official for agencies including the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She died in 2004 at age 75.
CPNHT is a nonprofit trust in Calvert County, comprised of the Sierra Club, the Maryland Conservation Council and Dominion Cove Point LNG. The scholarship is part of a larger plan to give research education funds to area educational organizations that include St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and Morgan State University.
“Ruth was the driving force behind the trust,” said CPNHT Trustee Mildred Kriemelmeyer. “She believed that industry and environmental groups can work together and don’t have to be warring factions.”
“From 1,100 acres outside Cove Point the trust has expanded its area of concern and responsibility—and that includes supporting the next generation of environmental advocates,” said CPNHT Board of Directors President Michael R. Rudy.
For information on this scholarship and others, visit http://www.csmd.edu/Financial/scholarships/.
For information on CSM’s biology and physical science programs, visit http://www.csmd.edu/bio/.