Boeing and Microsoft Pledge $50 Million to New Scholarship Fund

The Boeing Co. and Microsoft Corp. announced a joint commitment to support efforts to increase the number of Washington students earning bachelor’s degrees. The state’s two largest private employers are pledging $25 million apiece over the next five years to the new public-private Washington Opportunity Scholarship program and endowment signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire. Together with matching state contributions under the new program, this will raise $100 million for scholarships for low- and middle-income students, as a first step toward creating a billion-dollar endowment by the end of this decade.