Provides a unique opportunity where students from disadvantaged backgrounds can obtain the resources and financial support needed in order to successfully complete their college education. The Nina Scholars program provides each student with an academic advisor/mentor. This program covers full tuition, fees, and books. It also includes a $3,200 annual living allowance. The Nina Scholars program is highly focused on all aspects of the success of its student participants. Nina Mason Pulliam (1906 - 1997) was a journalist, a business leader, a humanitarian and a lover of all creatures. She was born and raised in central Indiana in a farming family of seven children. She lived her adult life in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Phoenix, Arizona and traveled the world extensively. She was the founding secretary-treasurer and a director of Central Newspapers, Inc. Pulliam, established in 1934. Among its many newspaper holdings were The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News, The Arizona Republic, and The Phoenix Gazette. Mrs. Pulliam was both a journalist and a business woman; she was the first female member of the Sigma Delta Chi, now the Society of Professional Journalists. During her lifetime many charitable and civic organizations benefited from her generosity. The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust was established upon the death of Nina Mason Pulliam on March 26, 1997, to provide 50 years of support to the causes she loved in her home states of Arizona and Indiana. The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust seeks to help people in need, especially women, children, and families; to protect animals in nature; and to enrich community life in the metropolitan areas of Indianapolis and Phoenix. In 2001, the Trust established the Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars program in tribute to the life and values of its benefactress. Participating schools are Arizona State University, Maricopa Community Colleges, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), and Ivy Tech State College-Indianapolis Campus.
