Brewing Diversity
Regis University and Station 26 Brewing Co. to provide craft beer scholarship to underrepresented students
Regis University, along with Station 26 Brewing Co., has created a scholarship designed to promote diversity within the University’s Applied Craft Brewing Certificate Program and the craft brewing industry as a whole.
The For You For All Diversity in Craft Brewing Scholarship will provide financial support to typically underrepresented students, including people of color, women and members of the LGBTQ community, who are enrolled in Regis University’s craft brewing program. Over time, scholarship creators hope it will lead to greater diversity in the craft brew workforce.
Denver-based Station 26 has provided $10,000 toward the goal of raising $50,000 to create an endowed scholarship that will exist in perpetuity. Sponsors hope to award annual scholarships of between $2,500 and $5,000. The awards could begin a year after the scholarship is fully endowed.
The craft brewing industry historically has lacked diversity, said Matthew Peetz, director of Regis University’s Applied Craft Beer Brewing Certificate program. “It would be great if this scholarship helped change that.”
In announcing the scholarship on Instagram, Station 26 officials said they are “a company built upon inclusivity for all. We, and our industry at large, still have work to do to achieve the kind of diversity we espouse.”
That increased diversity “will lead to greater creativity and engagement and will enable Colorado’s craft beer community to work towards the systemic change our country needs,” the post said.
Designed for working adults, Regis University's certificate in Applied Craft Brewing provides students with both an understanding of the science of brewing and the skills to develop their own craft through hands-on experience. Students work alongside accomplished brewers and complete an internship at a brewery in a state that was a pioneer in the craft-brewing field, hosts the annual Great American Beer Festival, and is home to some of the biggest names in craft brewing.
The certificate program, one of only a handful of its kind in the nation, has proven popular. Peetz said the program has received 28 applications for 24 spots in the upcoming fall cohort.
To learn more about the For You For All Diversity in Craft Brewing Scholarship, or to make a donation to the scholarship fund, visit this site.