Feb. 6, 1998 Contact Gaye Vandermyn (541) 346-3133 EUGENE--A scholarship fund established 25 years ago by international alumni of the University of Oregon may help 50 Asian students complete their spring term work to earn their degrees. The University of Oregon has agreed to a plan to spend $50,000 of the principal of its $250,000 Kenneth Ghent International Scholarship Fund to provide $1,000 grants to 50 students hardest hit by the international financial crisis. Normally, only the interest on the Ghent fund--about $12,000 to $15,000 a year--is used to finance scholarships for international students. Tom Mills, director of the UO Office of International Education and Exchange, said the UO agreed to the spend-down plan first proposed by the officers of the International Students' Association and local friends of international students, "because the current fincancial crisis had struck so suddenly and affected so many students so severely that they and their families really had nowhere else to turn." "It is the humanitarian thing to do, especially for those close to graduation," Mills said. "Moreover, international students bring a significant amount of cultural diversity and richness to the UO and the community." Planning for a special fund-raising campaign among the Univeristy of Oregon's 10,000 international alumni to replenish and expand the fund will begin next week. Mills said only international students are eligible for Ghent scholarships and those first chosen to receive the special one-time grants will be international students who are financially needy and near completion of their degrees. Priority will be given to students from the four countries hardest hit by currency devaluations--South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand--but any international student with severe financial need is encouraged to apply. March 2 is the deadline for submitted applications to the UO Office of International Education and Exchange. -30- #O-1138/Local,PDX,PDX/Spcl, NN, NW