<p>$175 million donation to fund scholarships</p>
<p>John P. and Tashia F. Morgridge, two of the leading philanthropists in Wisconsin history, are scheduled to announce in Green Bay on Tuesday morning that they are donating $175 million to create a permanent endowment to fund scholarships for Wisconsin high school graduates to attend colleges in the state.</p>
<p>The Fund for Wisconsin Scholars will award close to 2,000 grants of $1,000 to $5,000 for the 2008-'09 school year and more than 3,000 grants annually after that, according to information released by the fund.</p>
<p>The fund will be open to graduates of public high schools in the state and the scholarships will be usable at public universities in the state. Amanda K. Todd, a spokeswoman for the fund, said private colleges might be added at a later stage.</p>
<p>In a statement, Tashia Morgridge said, “Wisconsin’s public schools do an outstanding job of preparing students for higher education. We are committed to helping ensure that higher education is accessible and affordable.”</p>
<p>The fund will be separate from one announced on Nov. 1 with a $40 million gift from the Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. That fund was specifically intended to provide financial backing the Wisconsin Covenant program of Gov. Jim Doyle that aims to guarantee eighth grade students in Wisconsin access to education at a Wisconsin college if they graduate from high school meeting specific standards. Todd said the purposes of the funds are compatible.</p>
<p>John Morgridge is the chairman emeritus of Cisco Systems. The Morgridges are both graduates of Wauwatosa High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and live in California. In the last several years, they have made large gifts to several Wisconsin causes, particularly UW-Madison. The gifts include $50 million for a research center, $31 million for renovating an education building and an unspecified amount as part of an $85 million gift to the business school announced in October.</p>