The Wisconsin Dairy Products Assn. (WDPA) has extended the deadline for its Robert L. Bradley Scholarship to May 1. This scholarship is named after Dr. Bob Bradley, a long-time professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a major supporter of WDPA. Bradley has been active for more than 20 years in WDPA’s annual Dairy Product Grading and Evaluation Clinic and has been the assistant head judge for WDPA’s World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest for the past seven years.

The Robert L. Bradley Scholarship is an annual award valued at $2,000 with each year’s funding coming from the net proceeds of the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest auction. The scholarship will be awarded each year to a deserving college student pursuing a career in the dairy industry. It is available to a dependent of any employee that works for a company that belongs to the WDPA, including processor members and supplier/associate members, as well as dependents of producers who belong to a WDPA member cooperative or dairy plant.

To be eligible for the scholarship, the student must meet the following criteria:

o    Graduating high school seniors and college freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible for this scholarship. No grad students are eligible. 
o    The student must be attending the UW-Madison or planning to attend (if presently a high school senior).  
o    The student must be in the Food Science program, Dairy Science program, or a dairy industry related program (should explain in essay how their field of interest will benefit the dairy industry) in order to apply.
o    The student must be in good academic standing.
o    The award can be used for any college educational expenses, including tuition, books, room and board, etc.

How to apply:

o    The student must complete the application. In addition, the student must write a 400-word essay explaining their current field of study and how it relates to their future goals. 
o    Student must also submit two letters of recommendation from reliable, unrelated (to student) sources.
o    Student must submit their high school transcript and current college transcript.
o    Student should send the completed application, essay, transcripts and letters of recommendation to WDPA, 8383 Greenway Blvd., Middleton, WI 53562 or info@wdpa.net before May 1.
o    WDPA will code each application and block out the personal information of the applicant for the judges. 
o    A three person-judging panel, plus Bradley, will review all applications.
o    The scholarship winner will be announced on June 15. 
o    The scholarship check will be deposited in the winning student’s account at the UW-Madison Bursar’s office and will be divided equally between the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 semesters ($1,000 disbursed for each semester).
o    The winning student will be invited to attend the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest auction on September 28 in order to be properly recognized. 

The application deadline is May 1. Please submit all pertinent materials to WDPA prior to that date.

To download or print a copy of the application, visit www.wdpa.net or email info@wdpa.net.