After two years of extensive fundraising, the Martin Luther King Jr. Endowed Scholarships will be awarded for the first time this spring.

The award provided by MSU's Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance and Monitoring will be presented to several students this semester to use during the upcoming school year.

"The scholarship is in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and what he stood for, so it's solely based on community activism and leadership," said Misty Staunton, an urban and regional planning graduate student, who helped initiate fund-raising efforts for the scholarship.

Scholarship recipients will be selected by the office on the basis of demonstrated leadership, commitment to and involvement with social change in communities, financial need, academic achievement, one year of full-time study at MSU, as well as current full-time status.

The majority of fundraising was initiated by students in 2002, and as of last month, the scholarship total exceeded $44,000. Each award will be no less than $500 but are anticipated to be larger.

"The scholarship has been endowed in two years, and that is amazing - we are proud to be a part of this legacy because the scholarship will be around for many years to come," said Geneva Thomas, a history senior and president of the Black Student Alliance, which has been involved with fundraising for the grant over the past two years. Thomas said the alliance is committed to the scholarship because it will help students in need.

"It is often a struggle for students of color to finance their education here at MSU, and we are proud to see an endowed scholarship in Martin Luther King's name," she said.

In past years, a banquet was held to raise funds for the award, but this year the plans have changed. According to Audrey Bentley, administrative assistant for the affirmative action office, plans are in the works for a major fundraiser to take place in March, but further details are currently not available.