Published: May 9, 2014 3:03 pm ET
Updated: May 9, 2014 3:12 pm ET
MCHENRY, ILL. — The Plastics Pioneers Association has changed the awarding of its scholarship program from a disbursement of 10 or more at $3,000 each year, to ongoing, endowed scholarships at specific leading plastics schools.
Supporting plastics education though scholarships is one of the main missions of the 66-year-old PPA, whose members have at least 25 years of activity in plastics. The scholarships are currently administered by the Society of Plastics Engineers’ SPE Foundation.
PPA voted to change the awarding of scholarship funds from an annual appropriations vote to a permanent, self-funding endowed scholarship.
The first endowed scholarship goes to the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The scholarship will be sufficient to award at least $3,000 to one student at the school in Lowell, Mass., each year in perpetuity. U-Mass Lowell’s Plastics Engineering Department will select the annual recipient.
The first endowed scholarship will go to incoming senior undergraduate Michael Magaletta from Derry. N.H.
According to Robert Malloy, professor and chairman of U-Mass Lowell’s Plastics Engineering Department, Magaletta has a 3.99 grade point average. He has done one summer cooperative program at Gillette Co., and will return to Gillette this summer.
PPA will recognize Magaletta at its fall meeting.
PPA is exploring creating other similar endowed scholarships with a number of schools offering degrees in plastics engineering and technology.
The association also supports education through donations to the Plastivan and the Polymer Ambassadors “teach the teacher program.
Donations are approved annually, from the PPA Education Fund, which includes income from investments and contributions from its members, which now number about 200. | 
