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Students, colleges urge lawmakers to restore and increase Roberta Willis scholarships
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Summary
At a Connecticut higher education hearing, students from independent colleges and representatives of private institutions told the Appropriations subcommittee the Roberta Willis scholarship must be restored or increased after one-time ARPA boosts and a proposed flat-funding level risked eliminating millions in awards.
A broad group of college students and private college representatives told the Higher Education Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee that state support for the Roberta Willis scholarship needs to increase beyond the governor's proposed flat funding.
Nina Gardella, a sophomore at the University of Saint Joseph, said the grant made her attendance at the private Catholic college possible and asked legislators to expand support. “I appreciate your support for increased funding for the Roberta Willis scholarship program so that students in my position may have the opportunity to choose the in state school that best suits their circumstances,” Gardella told the panel.
Representatives of independent institutions and the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges warned the program’s budget outlook could sharply reduce awards. Jed Widnes, testifying for the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, said the governor proposed “to flat fund this program at $24,800,000 for both years of the biennium,” and noted recent ARPA allocations had temporarily increased the number of scholarships awarded.
Students from Albertus Magnus College, the University of New Haven and Mitchell College recounted how Roberta Willis awards helped them afford campus-specific programs or internships they otherwise could not accept. Olivia Hall of the University of New Haven said the scholarship “has been instrumental in my educational experience” and allowed her to balance work with internships in federal and local agencies.
Advocates urged the legislature to consider that many Willis recipients are Pell-eligible and students of color pursuing high‑need fields, and that private colleges often match state aid with institutional grants. Widnes told the committee that recipient households are disproportionately low income and that institutions multiply the state's investment with their own aid.
Ending
Lawmakers did not take a vote at the hearing. Advocates asked the Appropriations subcommittee to consider restoring higher base funding for the Roberta Willis program in the biennial budget so scholarship awards do not decline if one‑time federal ARPA dollars are not continued.
