10/10/2005

Contact: K.E. Schwab  -- 724-738-2199;  e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu

PITTSBURGH-BASED QUALITY AGGREGATES CREATES AWARD FOR LAUREL HIGH SCHOLARS

     SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Quality Aggregates, Inc., a Pittsburgh-based surface mining and land reclamation company, has committed to a $20,000 donation to Slippery Rock University to create the Quality Aggregates Scholarship for graduates of New Castle’s Laurel High School.

        Under the plan, administered by the Slippery Rock University Foundation, Inc., the nonprofit manager of charitable resources for the university, the first $1,000 scholarship will be awarded next spring to the Laurel High graduate with the highest grade-point-average, applying and being admitted to SRU for fall 2006.

     “This is a very important scholarship,” says President Robert Smith, noting, “It will allow a deserving Laurel High graduate the opportunity to attend SRU. We are deeply appreciative of Quality Aggregates, and especially its president, Joe Aloe. His leadership in giving back to the community in which the company operates and in recognizing the need for such scholarships are to be commended. We thank both him and Quality Aggregates for their generosity and support.”

          Last year, Quality Aggregates donated limestone boulders produced at its Princeton, Pa., quarry, moving them to campus to create a walkway rock sculpture on the main quad near Bailey Library. The donation helped beautify the campus.

     Aloe stated, “Safety, environmental stewardship and community relations are essential in today’s mineral extraction industry. QAI is proud of its on-going affiliation with Slippery Rock University.”

              Slippery Rock University Foundation, Inc. provides $4.3 million annually for programs and projects under way on campus, including more than $1.2 million in direct student scholarship aid provided by donors and those creating both endowed and special scholarships.

PN, WPN, PGN, RL

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