Empire State College:  State University of New York Skip navigation Home | MyESC | Site Index
MyESC Site Map

Check announcements and deadlines, contact someone for help and get to the pages and services you use the most.
Check your financial and academic records, activate your login, and update your contact information.
Register for your studies, find tutorials and other information about registration.
Access your online courses, choose your studies for upcoming terms, and plan your studies.
Visit the online library, get help with writing and math, find a tutor and more.
Financial aid and scholarships, billing, college bookstore, disabilities services and all other student services.

The Morton Bahr Online Learning Scholarship at SUNY Empire State College

Application due June 3, 2024

Please submit the completed application with the two required essays. Please give a nomination form, along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope, to two individuals who can provide an assessment of your potential for success in the program.

Name:
First: (Required)
MI:
Last: (Required)
Address:
Street: (Required)
City: (Required)
State: (Required)
Zip Code: (Required)
Country:
Phone:
Home: (Home or Work/Cell Required)
Work/Cell: (Home or Work/Cell Required)
Student ID # (if available):
E-mail: (Required)
Job Title: (Required)
Employer:
Name: (Required)
Phone:
CWA Local (if member):
If not a CWA Local member, are you a spouse, domestic partner or child of a CWA member? (Required, if not CWA member)
Are you a member of a different union? (Required)
Are you currently eligible for, or receiving tuition assistance from other sources? (Required)
Have you had previous experience with distance (or online) learning? (Required)
Essay: There are two essays required. The first essay is an application essay which should discuss your personal, career, and educational goals and accomplishments, and explain how a Bahr Scholarship will help you to accomplish your goals.

For the second essay, use one of the following quotes from the president of the Communications Workers of America, Morton Bahr, as a platform for launching your own ideas or the ideas of others on a similar theme in a short essay. In a one to two-page essay, create your response to these ideas. We will use this essay as a sample of your writing and communication skills to predict your ability to be successful in college.

I believe we can seize upon the opportunities created by historic change and help bring about a resurgence of the American labor movement. Communications Workers of America is uniquely situated to take a leadership role in moving the labor movement into the 21st century and in making the American dream available again for workers. But we must first clearly articulate the new role of trade unions in a rapidly changing world and determine how unions can best serve the needs of workers in a global economy. (p. 20.)

American labor unions have traditionally been deeply involved in their communities. The 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, employer-provided health care, and a variety of government programs from Social Security to health and safety regulations, unemployment insurance and workers compensation – all were fought for and won by organized labor. And they benefit working families, not just union members. We need to return to what made the labor movement great, advancing the cause of working America as a whole. (p. 23.)

If America is going to succeed in the 21st century, we need to become a nation of lifelong learners. Today for the first time in our history, a majority of all new jobs require a post-secondary education. Tomorrow’s workers will be expected to have a command of reading, computing, and oral and written communication skills to qualify for many of the least skilled jobs. And, all future good jobs will demand continued learning and education … Employees who are involved in learning have a better attitude toward their company. Because of their employers’ commitment to their education, workers realize that they do not have to be anti-company in order to be good union members. They begin to understand that management and labor have the same goal – a profitable company. We need to change our basic culture to make lifelong learning a priority for everyone. Instead of thinking of school as a gas station where you stop once, get filled up and then go on, we need to think of education as the road itself. (pp. 197, 209.)

Bahr, Morton. (1998). From the Telegraph to the Internet. Washington D.C.: National Press Books, Inc.

You can find additional information about Empire State College and distance learning from our web site at: http://www.esc.edu.

Please return the application form with essays to: Bahr Scholarship Committee, Empire State College, 28 Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-4391.
Type or Attach your essay below.

First Essay:
Second Essay:
Nomination Status:NOTE: This application is not considered complete until two nomination forms have been received. Please check the appropriate statement:



(Required)
Applicant’s SignatureIf you are ready to submit your form, please check off the statement below and type your name in the signature box.

Then click the Submit button.

IMPORTANT: Once you click the Submit button, you will not be able to return to your form.



Type your name in the box below to represent your signature: