Verizon International Foundation Establishes Scholarship Program at Instituto Technológico de Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - To help support the development of technical and business professionals in the Dominican Republic, Verizon International Foundation has established a scholarship program for students at the Instituto Technológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), the leading technical institute in the Dominican Republic.

The announcement was made today at CODETEL during a luncheon honoring the first group of scholarship recipients.

Ten students at the institute's Telecommunications, Engineering and Business Department have been awarded scholarships of $5,000 each for the 2001-2002 academic year.

The scholarship winners are William Jose Cury Matos, Hansel de Jesus Coste, Dayanne Grullon Jimenez, Jean Eleizer Ledesma Collado, Josefina Mendez Pujols, Ernesto Antonio Nina Sosa, Magdaliza Negreira Urbaez, Karla Reynoso Ureña, Ronny Daniel Rojas Peguero and Rogelio Vasquez Rosario.

The scholarships, which are renewable each year of the department's three-year undergraduate program, will pay the full cost of the students' annual tuition, transportation, textbooks, laboratory fees and health insurance.

The program, to be called the Verizon International Scholarship, will expand over the next two years to cover 30 students. When fully funded, the program will provide $450,000 in scholarships. CODETEL, the leading telecommunications company in the Dominican Republic, which is owned and operated by Verizon, will provide administrative support for the program.

"As a world leader in telecommunications, Verizon has a longstanding commitment to support educational programs that develop a skilled workforce," said Fares Salloum, president-international, the Americas for Verizon.

"In addition to helping increase the number of qualified professionals, the scholarship program at INTEC will provide students the opportunity to contribute to the future economic growth of the Dominican Republic."

"We congratulate these students for their outstanding academic achievement," Salloum said.

Also attending the luncheon were Milagros Ortiz Bosch, vice president and secretary of education for the Dominican Republic; Jorge Ivan Ramirez, president of CODETEL; Rafael Toribio, president of INTEC, and other officials.

"By helping these exceptional students achieve their full academic potential, CODETEL and Verizon are honoring their commitment to foster education in the Dominican Republic," Ramirez said. "The scholarships ensure that the Dominican Republic will have a pool of highly qualified professionals."

Rafael Toribio, said, "The scholarship program not only strengthens the ties between Verizon and INTEC, but most important it will strengthen our mission to offer affordable education to all."

Verizon International Foundation has similar scholarships in Asia, Europe, Puerto Rico, Mexico and plans to expand the program to other Latin American countries.

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have a cumulative grade average of 90 percent or better, demonstrate financial need, be enrolled in the institute's three-year degree program, have attended high school in the Dominican Republic and reside in the Dominican Republic.

Verizon International Foundation

Verizon International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon International, supports a variety of educational and economic initiatives that focus on literacy, workforce and community technology development. The foundation is committed to improving the quality of life of the global communities and customers served by Verizon and its international affiliates. The foundation works closely with Verizon's affiliates and a variety of advisory groups and other organizations to identify local needs and to develop and nurture programs that address those needs.

Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 128.5 million access line equivalents and 28.7 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with 256,000 employees and approximately $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to more than 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.