FranU Received $44,000 Gift from the Susan Jones Losavio Foundation

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University received a $44,000 gift from the Susan Jones Losavio Foundation to create The Susan Jones Losavio Endowed Scholarship in Psychology, which will provide scholarship support for psychology majors, especially those interested in also becoming certified in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at FranU.

Macon, Keenan and Rueger Mayeux, nephews of Susan Jones Losavio, shared “The motivation for this gift was to honor our Aunt Susan in a meaningful way and to support students studying at FranU who will go on to help others. This scholarship represents the first dedicated scholarship for a student in the Psychology program at FranU, and is vitally important to assuring we remove financial obstacles that get in the way of degree completion and subsequent service to our community.

Tina Holland, FranU President, shared her appreciation to The Susan Jones Losavio Foundation for establishing an endowed scholarship at FranU, emphasizing that “students who are called to provide psychological services, including ABA therapy, are not entering the field for the money. We don’t want them to be burdened with overwhelming student loan debt upon graduation. Every scholarship dollar makes a major difference in the lives of these Franciscan servant leaders.”

Peter J. Losavio shared, “The Losavio family believes in education, and we are honored to partner with FranU to fund this new scholarship in Psychology, helping students who are formed in a faith-based environment to meet their educational goals and serve others in our community and beyond.”

This gift will support students in the psychology program, and will be awarded to a student majoring in psychology meeting specified criteria. The annual scholarship will award $2,000 to a student for a maximum of four years, and priority will be given to students who desire to complete the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) certification as part of their educational goals.

Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Brian Rash concluded, “Through this generous gift, the Susan Jones Losavio Foundation positively impacts the formation of FranU students in vocations aimed at increasing access to help those populations we know are in dire need.”