Bell Atlantic Pledges $250,000 for Scholarship Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Bell Atlantic Pledges $250,000 for Scholarship
Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County

Grants to Help Students Achieve Dreams of a College
Diploma

May 26, 1999

BALTIMORE -- Financial aid will be available to the brightest and
neediest students planning to attend the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC), with the help of grants totaling $250,000 from Bell
Atlantic.

In response to a statewide need for information systems skills in the work
force, the Bell Atlantic Foundation will give UMBC $150,000 over the
next three years to help endow the Bell Atlantic Foundation Scholars
Program. An additional $100,000 from Bell Atlantic also will go toward
this program to help fund four full-term scholarships for high school
graduates majoring in information systems, computer science or computer
engineering. UMBC will contribute additional funds from its own
endowment.

"We are very grateful to Bell Atlantic for making these grants
possible because they will help talented students meet the financial
challenges of pursuing a degree," said UMBC President Freeman A.
Hrabowski III. "As a result, the partnership between UMBC and
Bell Atlantic will build a stronger, better educated work force and a more
vibrant economy."

"Bell Atlantic has a century-old tradition of supporting education in
Maryland, and we are proud to partner with UMBC in helping the best
students get a college education," said Sherry F. Bellamy, president
and CEO of Bell Atlantic - Maryland. "Our grants will make a
positive difference in the lives of these young people."

"Like many businesses, Bell Atlantic depends upon a work force
with information technology skills," said Majid Naderkhani,
president of Bell Atlantic's Telecom Group Systems. "We are
excited about the Bell Atlantic scholars program at UMBC because it will
help create a qualified pool of future employees for the
telecommunications industry."

Persons interested in applying for the Bell Atlantic Foundation Scholars
Program at UMBC should call (410) 455-6596.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), is a suburban
Maryland university with outstanding students, a faculty devoted to
research and teaching, and an impressive track record placing students
in leading graduate programs and promising careers. Located just outside
Baltimore, UMBC's 10,000 students come from nearly every state in the U.S.
and 80 foreign countries. The campus is home to the nationally known Meyerhoff
Scholars Program, The Shriver Center, and a number of major research centers.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically
and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in
education, health and human services, the arts and humanities, and civic
development in the communities served by Bell Atlantic. For more
information, visit www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine
million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are
premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market
leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory
information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.