More than 2,000 Ohio drivers have an OU license plate, which benefits student scholarships
More than 2,000 Ohio drivers are showing their Ohio University spirit with collegiate license plates, all the while helping students.
Since 1994, OU has been drawing thousands of dollars from the license plates, money which goes to fund scholarships.
During the 2013-14 academic year, OU’s License Plate Scholarship Endowment collected more than $54,000, according to Pam Dailey, OU’s records specialist.
So far this year, OU has received about $12,000 from the plates.
Since the scholarship was created two decades ago, the total value of the scholarship endowment has grown to nearly $930,000, said Katie Quaranta, an OU spokeswoman.
The money funds general university scholarships for students who are residents of the state of Ohio.
OU could not provide the names of any students who benefit from the endowment for “privacy issues,” Romine said.
The university receives $25 from each of the license plates, which is transferred to the general scholarship fund of the customer’s chosen university.
Originally, OU’s collegiate plate featured the Cutler Hall tower. Now, plates, which are available for purchase through the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, feature the “Roaring Bobcat” — the OU logo known to current fans of Ohio Athletics.
“I was part of making the switch to the ‘roaring Bobcat,’” said Connie Romine, associate executive director of the OU Alumni Association. “The athletic director at the time had decided that we needed to have a more athletic-bend to it.”
In addition to normal registration fees, motorists must pay $35 annually for these special plates.
OU has only one license plate style, while other universities, such as The Ohio State University, have more than one.
Right now, the program for OU plates is only available in Ohio.
“We don’t have any agreements with other states because there’s a lot to jump through to create that,” Romine said. “So we’ve never created an out-of-state program.”
OU, OSU and Miami University are among the 25 universities in Ohio that participate in the program.
Last year, a total of 39,416 collegiate license plates were issued or renewed in Ohio, according to the Ohio BMV website.
“In Columbus alone, we have about 60,000 alumni, and every year we have four or five thousand new alumni. It could be a much bigger program,” Romine said. “It’s a really easy way to help add to a scholarship.”
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