NEWPORT NEWS, Va., July 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that the HII Scholarship Fund, now in its fourth year, has awarded 89 new scholarships for the 2019-2020 school year. Additionally, the fund renewed 89 previously active scholarships. To date, 578 scholarships have been awarded or renewed for a total of more than $1.5 million.

The HII Scholarship Fund was formed to provide financial assistance to qualified and selected dependent children of HII employees who are pursuing a post-secondary college or technical/vocation degree and to dependent children who are enrolled in quality pre-kindergarten school readiness programs. For the fourth year in a row, HII President and CEO Mike Petters declined all but $1 of his annual salary to fund the program that has helped provide educational opportunities to 362 children of employees across the HII enterprise.

“It is amazing to see the impact of this program over the past four years,” Petters said. “Students who received their first scholarship as freshmen are now having it renewed going into their senior year of college. Additionally, our first group of school-readiness children are in third grade, instilled with an essential early love of learning. It makes the entire HII family proud to be part of this program that will continue to have a positive impact on our future workforce and in the lives of those in our communities.”

Of the scholarships awarded, 30 were granted to students in four-year education programs, 20 were granted to students in two-year technical/vocation programs, and 39 were granted to students in early childhood school-readiness programs. The parents of the scholarship awardees work across the HII enterprise.

Individual award amounts range from $1,500 for selected students enrolled in a two-year college program to $3,000 for selected students enrolled in a four-year program; the post-secondary awards are renewable for recipients who remain in good academic standing. The fund also awards scholarships of up to $3,000 for pre-school education costs.

Children of all HII employees are eligible to apply for the scholarship fund, with the exception of children of senior executives and those employees who have been with the company for less than two years. Guidelines and applications for the 2020 program will be available in early 2020.

The annual fund is a result of HII’s commitment to workforce development and ongoing efforts to invest in the future generations of workers through education. Through the decades, HII has made numerous investments in STEM education programs; partnerships with local high schools, community colleges and technical schools to develop trade-based curriculum; summer internships for both students and teachers, and industry-leading apprentice schools at the company’s two shipyards.

The HII Scholarship Fund is administered through Scholarship America. The selection process for awards is independent of HII and based on both academic scholarship and financial need. No employee or officer of HII plays a part in the selection process.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Mission Driven Innovative Solutions, Nuclear & Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 40,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:

• HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com
• HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries
• HII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustries

Contact:

Beci Brenton
Beci.Brenton@hii-co.com
(202) 264-7143