Nine years ago today, El Dorado, Ark.-based Murphy Oil Corp. announced a surprising corporate move. It would give every child in the town an opportunity to go to college without the burden of tuition.
The goal was to benefit students in the best possible way, and with a $50 million dollar scholarship program, Murphy Oil has done just that. To date, nearly 1,800 scholarships have been awarded.
The El Dorado Promise provides a scholarship to graduates of El Dorado High School up to the equivalent of the highest in-state tuition at an Arkansas public college or university, But, the students can apply that college tuition money at any accredited school.
According to the El Dorado Promise Foundation, 86 percent of the scholarship recipients in the most recent class enrolled in Arkansas’ colleges or universities.
Over the nine years, El Dorado students have used the Promise at 57 intuitions nationwide.
