Designers Lighting Forum of New York contributes $175,000 to The Nuckolls Fund

The Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education has received a $175,000 contribution from the Designers Lighting Forum of New York to establish a 20-year program of Student Achievement Awards.

The announcement of one of the largest donations made to the Fund since its inception 27 years ago was made jointly by Jeffrey Milham, President of The Nuckolls Fund, and Clifford Starr, incoming President of the Designers Lighting Forum of New York. Two $5,000 Student Achievement Awards will be presented initially at the annual Nuckolls Fund luncheon held during Lightfair in 2015. The DLFNY student awards will continue to 2035. Eligible for the awards are full-time students in full lighting programs, to rotate through Parsons The New School of Design, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Each award recipient will be nominated by the head of the lighting program at the respective school. The award can be applied to any purpose that will further the education of each recipient. “This new award will expand upon the already existing Jonas Bellovin Scholar Achievement Award and the Jules Horton International Student Achievement Award” said Jeffrey Milham, who helped to found The Nuckolls Fund in memory of lighting designer and educator James L. Nuckolls. “The Designers Lighting Forum of New York is now the single largest contributor to The Nuckolls Fund, and we are forever grateful for their generosity and support,” Milham said. This significant financial support from the DLFNY to The Nuckolls Fund came largely from proceeds derived from LEDucation, the conference and exhibit sponsored by DLFNY, first held in 2006 that has been expanding each year. “The hard work of so many members of the LEDucation team has made this donation and student award possible,” said Starr. “The Designers Lighting Forum of New York has long been an ardent supporter of The Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education. We believe that the new Student Achievement Awards will contribute to the continued vitality of the lighting community, both in New York and around the country,” Starr said. To date, The Fund has given a total of $875,000 for the advancement of lighting education in North America. The first two DLFNY Student Achievement awards will be presented to recipients at The Nuckolls Fund luncheon on May 5, 2015 at Lightfair in New York City.