Athens, W.Va. – Gary Rado, President of CASIO, Inc., a worldwide consumer electronics company, established the Cook/Rado Scholarship in honor of Henry Cook and to help deserving students who attend Concord College. Rado is a 1963 graduate and Cook graduated in 1961.
Rado, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., stated that:
“In my own life, I didn’t have an opportunity to go to college after high school, so I decided to work a year or two. I had a friend who was going to Concord and he talked the school up. So, I wrote to the school and they gave me a chance, which I will always remember. I wanted to share the opportunity I had with others who may not be in the upper 10% of their class. It isn’t always necessary to go to a big college or be in the upper 10% to be successful. Students with more modest academic records need a chance, too. In fact, I had a recent conversation with Henry (Cook) who told me about an African-American student who put his brothers and sisters through college and then he had to quit because his money ran out. That is a tragedy. This will help, one student at a time. Henry and I had a hand in establishing the Phi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) fraternity at Concord. Henry was the spirit, if you will, when we went to school and is still the driving force behind the fraternity. In fact, he continues to help pull together reunions and other events for PSE.”
Gary Rado
The scholarship—with an initial endowment of $50,000—will be awarded to qualified students to pay toward tuition, fees, room and board. Two scholarships will be awarded annually, one to a Pennsylvania student and the second to a graduate of a West Virginia high school. The scholarships will be $1,000 per student per semester.
In addition to establishing the scholarship, Rado also donated a new, 3.3 mega-pixal CASIO camera to the College’s public relations department. Anita Lewis, director of the department said that the camera is saving the College money because the pictures are digital and do not have to be processed, and that the College is providing better service to the media with high-quality pictures that are available on Concord’s web site.
For more information on attending Concord College, call toll-free 1-888-384-5249, or 1-304-384-5248, or e-mail admissions@concord.edu.
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