Make wishtv.com your home page

Marian University offering 2 IPS students free tuition

Caito-Wagner Hall & St. Joseph Chapel at Marian University in Indianapolis. Marian University is offering a pair of scholarships to Indianapolis Public Schools students. (Photo provided by Marian University)

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Marian University is offering a tremendous opportunity for two local students. They’ll get free tuition for all four years at Marian through a $2.5 million donation from an Indianapolis couple.

The scholarships are specifically for students in Indianapolis Public Schools.

To qualify, the aspiring Knights need to:

  • Demonstrate financial need
  • Apply for and earn acceptance to Marian and apply for the scholarship heading into freshman year
  • Have a minimum 2.5 Grade Point Average
  • Stay a student in good standing while at Marian

University officials say the late John ‘Jack’ Sullivan and Phyllis Sullivan made the scholarships possible. The Sullivans lived in Indianapolis and Phyllis Sullivan was a teacher at Manual High School.

“The Sullivans understood the value of education and wanted to give a leg up to motivated IPS students who are in need of financial assistance,” said their attorney Sherri Elder, according to Marian. Their family says Phyllis Sullivan was a business and physical education teacher. She died in 2017. John Sullivan spent his career in real estate and passed away last year.

The school quotes Marian University President Dan Elsener as saying, “My deepest gratitude to the estate of John and Phyllis Sullivan and all of our generous supporters who recognize the profound impact scholarships make in the lives of students and believe in the mission of Marian University to graduate them as transformational leaders.”

Marian says it’s coming off of its strongest year ever for fundraising, with $61.2 million in gifts and more than 4,481 total donors. Both are records for the school.

The 2023-24 school year starts at Marian on Aug. 21, but the school is already making headlines even before the students return. Earlier in the month, Marian’s brand new engineering school building opened. The E.S. Witchger School of Engineering offers degrees in six different disciplines.