A group of Georgia State University donors and the Georgia State Foundation have endowed a scholarship fund to honor Dr. Mark P. Becker’s service to Georgia State and his important legacy as the university’s seventh president.

The endowment establishes the Mark Becker Scholars Endowment, which will award full-tuition scholarships to select rising Georgia State juniors and seniors who demonstrate financial need and exhibit talent for community involvement and innovation.

“President Becker has made a lasting impact on Georgia State, its students and the city of Atlanta,” said Jay Kahn, Georgia State vice president of advancementand president of the Georgia State Foundation. “Under his leadership, Georgia State has become a national model of student success and I can think of no better way to honor his legacy than creating an endowed scholarship in his name that will support student success in perpetuity.”

Dr. Becker began his tenure in 2009 and has led the university through a dynamic era of growth and advancement that has transformed Georgia State into one of the nation’s leading higher education institutions. Under Dr. Becker’s leadership, the university pursued a 10-year strategic plan that has reshaped Georgia State and the region and turned the university into a nationally recognized leader in innovation. Dr. Becker was named one of the 10 most innovative university presidents in the U.S. by Washington Monthly in 2015. Georgia State has been annually recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the most innovative universities in the country since the inception of the magazine’s innovation ranking.

During Dr. Becker’s tenure, graduation rates at Georgia State have risen by a remarkable 62 percent and the university has set records for enrollment, graduation rates and total graduates. The university has also set fundraising records and need- and merit-based scholarship funds disbursed to students have tripled.

Learn more about student success at Georgia State at success.gsu.edu. For more information on the Georgia State Foundation and the State Way Match program, visit giving.gsu.edu.

To make a gift to the Mark Becker Scholars Endowment, visit giving.gsu.edu/beckerscholars.