The Foundation for the Advancement of the Sign Industry—FASI—announces the first of what it hopes will be numerous scholarships to collegiate members of the Academic Advisory Council for Signage Research and Education.

The first scholarship goes to Stephanie Onwenu, a junior in the Landscape Architecture program in the School of Planning, Design and Construction, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at Michigan State University. The award is $1,000.

In her letter to FASI, Stephanie wrote, “This opportunity will allow me to compare and contrast the various ways and forms that signage is manipulated around the world. Following on into the next school year, I plan to begin my masters in environmental design graduate courses through the dual-degree program here at MSU. For my area of study, I plan to include an element of focus on signage in urban designed spaces.”

Pat Crawford, associate director of planning design and construction at MSU, says Onwenu is part of a research team that uses IBM VAS software to explore on-premise signage in urban streetscape environments. She adds that Onwenu will be taking her studies abroad in the spring of 2017, studying urban signage in Spain, the UK and Italy.

“FASI is very proud to assist in the education of college students with an interest in signage,” says Wade Swormstedt, FASI's executive director. “FASI hopes to announce many more of these scholarships throughout the year. FASI believes such scholarships support the groundwork laid by the National Signage Research & Education Conferences sponsored by The Signage Foundation.”  

FASI (www.fasi.org) is dedicated to serving as a resource for the on-premise sign industry and a clearinghouse of information for and about on-premise signs.