Pictured are BPCC Chancellor Rick Bateman, Jr. (left) and Mrs. Sharon Blake (right).
The BPCC Foundation has established the first endowed scholarship at Bossier Parish Community College’s (BPCC) new Sabine Valley Campus for the Fall 2022 semester with the receipt of generous gifts from the family and friends of Robert Lynn Byles of Many, LA. The scholarship will honor the life of Mr. Byles who passed away in February 2017. The Robert L. Byles Memorial Scholarship in Electrician Technology has assisted students at the Sabine Valley campus of Central Louisiana Technical & Community College (CLTCC) since 2017.
Effective July 1, 2022, the Louisiana Community & Technical College System (LCTCS) will realign two campuses of CLTCC with BPCC creating two new BPCC campuses, BPCC Sabine Valley and BPCC Natchitoches. The Robert L. Byles Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Electrician Technology represents the first endowed scholarship for the BPCC Sabine Valley campus and will benefit students of Sabine Parish.
In the Spring of 2023, the BPCC Foundation plans to request matching funds from the State of Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund to permanently endow the scholarship. The Board of Regents Support Fund was established in 1986 pursuant to an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution to maintain a source of state dollars for higher education grant opportunities for 2- and 4-year colleges in Louisiana.
Bossier Parish Community College, the BPCC Foundation, and the family and friends of Robert L. Byles are excited to begin this partnership to benefit BPCC students in Sabine Parish for many years to come and continue Mr. Byles’ legacy in higher education. Mrs. Sharon Blake presented contributions from family and friends to BPCC Chancellor Rick Bateman to commemorate the establishment of the fund at BPCC.
For additional information, please contact Gwen Fontenot, Interim Campus Dean, BPCC Sabine Valley, at (318) 357-3162 or Susannah Stinson, J.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, Bossier Parish Community College, at (318) 678-6010.