Due to recent budget cuts in student aid programs, campus organizations are asked to support the formation of a new University scholarship for minority students, a University official said.

Ann Shields, coordinator for alumni relations and special affairs in the College of Arts and Architecture, said she decided a new scholarship was needed after a series of cuts in the Pell Grant program, the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, the College Work-Study program and the Perkins Loan program.

"We have to work extra hard to get minority students and keep them at Penn State," Shields said.

The award, which will be called the Martin Luther King Scholarship, is in the very first stages of development. Shields said money for the award will be raised by students.

Shields said she is uncertain what kind of fund-raising activities will be involved. However, she is asking interested organizations to contact her.

Many decisions still need to be made before the idea is taken to the Office of Development and University Relations, Shields said.

For example, Shields said she does not know whether to offer the award to students who demonstrate financial need or to students who demonstrate academic excellence.

Shields said she is still discussing the idea with student groups to incorporate their responses.

"As long as the interest is there, we'll go for it," she said.

Shields has already spoken to the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

NAACP President Liz Walker said the group will meet March 11 to make decisions on raising money and determining criteria for the scholarship.

"People were very receptive to it," Walker said. "They thought it would be an excellent idea."

Shields said she hopes to award the scholarship each year at the Martin Luther King dinner -- part of the Martin Luther King Day celebration.

There are currently two University scholarships aimed at attracting and retaining black students. The Black Incentive Grant is an annual award for $580 and recipients must have a 2.7 grade point average. Black Achievement Awards are worth $1,160 annually and require a 3.0 grade point average.