TSUAg to Feature New Scholarship

Annual Dr. Naveen & Suma Srinivas Family Scholarship Program kicked off to support undergraduate students in perpetuity  

By Charlie Morrison

The Tennessee State University College of Agriculture’s (TSUAg) robust financial aid program got even stronger this week as the College initiated the Dr. Naveen & Suma Srinivas Family Scholarship Program. Dr. Srinivas was on campus earlier this week to present the first check to kick off the scholarship to University President Dwayne Tucker, College of Agriculture Dean Dr. Chandra Reddy and members of the faculty.  s

As a Hermitage, TN-based obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Naveen Srinivas, M.D. has been helping families in the Music City have children since 1982, when he set up a private OB/GYN practice in the Donelson/Hermitage area. After retiring in 2018, Dr. Srinivas and his wife Suma began exploring philanthropic opportunities, but the family’s value of education led them to do something for students at TSU where financial needs are the greatest.  

“We are so thankful for Dr. Srinivas and his family for their generous donation to the future of our College and our University,” said Dr. Chandra Reddy, Dean of the College of Agriculture. “It is on the backs of acts of selfless generosity as you see here with Dr. Srinivas that TSU has built a strong financial assistance program. Thank you to the Srinivas family from all of us at the College of Agriculture.”  

The Srinivas Family Scholarship program is initiated for students who are planning to pursue or are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree program in the College of Agriculture at Tennessee State University, Nashville, who are academically talented but have financial need. The overall purpose of the program is to help young men and women achieve their goals and train the future workforce to solve problems in the continually developing and challenging areas of the food and agriculture industry, not only in the United States but throughout the world.   

The scholarship is to be awarded through an application screening process and only intends to cover tuition and fees. The award is divided into equal annual installments to be paid over four years. The sophomore, junior, and senior-year payments are to be awarded through a renewal of scholarship with additional requirements. Thus, initially, the scholarship is to be awarded for one year only and is not automatically renewable.   

The Srinivas Family Scholarship program offers scholarships to U.S. citizens or Green Card holders seeking a bachelor’s degree in the College of Agriculture at Tennessee State University. The main objective of the program is to assist those students who are talented and motivated to pursue their education but lack financial means to do so. Scholarships are awarded each semester (Fall and Spring) and must be used at Tennessee State University.   

Each award provides $10,000 annually, paid in two equal installments of $5,000 each during the year, at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. Each annual scholarship renewal is contingent upon satisfactory performance (a minimum overall GPA of 3.25/4.00) and normal progress toward the bachelor's degree as determined by the department head in which the student is enrolled.