Columbia Central

Georgia-Pacific Foundation Endowed Johnson Scholarship

for continuing undergraduate students

The Georgia-Pacific Foundation Endowed Johnson Scholarship was established to assist students who have demonstrated achievement in Business and Entrepreneurship and have significant potential for career success. The scholarship is named in honor of John H. Johnson, an entrepreneur and publisher who founded the Johnson Publishing Company.

Deadline to Apply: February 01, 2025

• How to Apply

  Visit Internal Scholarships and click on APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS to access the College-Wide Undergraduate Scholarship Application. Only complete scholarship applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the scholarship committee.

  Please follow all directions carefully. Students must submit the following materials to make a complete Georgia-Pacific Foundation Endowed Johnson Scholarship application. There are three parts to the application:

   

  PART 1: ESSAY

  In one to two pages, describe how your work in your major is helping you to form long-term career goals, and how your studies at Columbia will contribute to your success in reaching these goals.

  Your essay must be double-spaced, and include your name and MyColumbia ID number in the upper right-hand corner of each page. Please upload your response in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format. 
  
  
  PART 2: LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

  One letter of recommendation is required from a Columbia faculty member who is familiar with your academic achievement or accomplishment in your major.

  For your convenience, the online application will send an email notification directly to the person you've chosen to complete your recommendation. Please be prepared with the email address of your recommender. 

  Remember to contact your recommenders directly before providing their information on the application. Since this application is part of the larger College-Wide Undergraduate Scholarship application, also note the specific scholarship(s) for which they will be recommending you. Be sure to give recommenders as much time as possible to write letters. Requests made at the last minute are often difficult to fulfill by the deadline.

  
  PART 3: FAFSA SUBMISSION SUMMARY

  A current FAFSA Submission Summary must be on file. To receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, students must complete a 2025-26 financial aid application (FAFSA) by February 1, 2025.
  
  

  Access online applications through Internal Scholarships.

• About John H. Johnson

  John H. Johnson was a publisher, entrepreneur and humanitarian who founded Johnson Publishing Company in 1945. Born into an impoverished family during a time of severe social and economic disadvantage for African-Americans, Johnson pursued his entrepreneurial dream in the face of adversity. Using a $500 loan, Johnson established what is now world’s largest Black-owned publishing company and the publisher of many successful works including EBONY, the No.1 African-American magazine in the world. His determination to improve Black representation and provide a platform for Black writers helped create social change, and his commitment to this mission helped him transform his company into an empire. Today, Johnson Publishing Company honors this mission by publishing books written by Black authors exclusively and owning Fashion Fair Cosmetics, world’s largest Black-owned cosmetics company.

  The Georgia-Pacific Foundation Endowed Johnson Scholarship will help students who have displayed strong potential, passion and accomplishment in Business and Entrepreneurship while carrying on John H. Johnson’s entrepreneurial legacy.

• Scholarship Terms
  • Application must be submitted by February 1, 2025 (11:59 pm) for review by the committee
  • Previous amount of this one-year scholarship was up to $2,900, awarded half in Fall and half in Spring
  • Scholarship is applied toward tuition only
  • Students' scholarships that are applied toward tuition may not exceed the amount of their tuition costs
  • Recipients must maintain full-time, undergraduate enrollment during the 2025-26 academic year
  • Recipients must have submitted all outstanding documents to Columbia Central before the scholarship can be disbursed. Students can review missing documents in the MyColumbia portal under MyFinancials
  • Scholarship may be used toward a study abroad program through one of Columbia's student exchange programs, excluding Summer sessions. Please note: Recipients who enroll in an independent study abroad program will forfeit their scholarship during the semester spent abroad
  • The rules and regulations governing other sources of financial aid (federal, state, institutional and other grants, gifts, or loans) will apply 
  • Columbia College Chicago reserves the right to withhold the scholarship in any year in which, at the sole discretion of the scholarship committee, suitable candidates cannot be found among applicants

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