Alongside members of both the Barakat and Abu-Salha families, Chancellor Randy Woodson announced a plan to create a scholarship endowment at NC State to honor and memorialize the three students killed in Chapel Hill last week at the Park Alumni Center Friday morning.

Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha and her sister Razan Abu-Salha were shot and killed on Feb. 10 in their home one mile away from the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill where Barakat was a second-dental student and Yusor Abu-Salha was set to begin her studies in August. Barakat completed his undergraduate work at NC State in 2013 and Yusor Abu-Salha had just graduated in December. Razan Abu-Salha was a first-year student studying environmental architecture

The endowment, created with insights from the two families, will provide annual support to students in the three colleges Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha studied at during their time at NC State: the Poole College of Management, the College of Sciences and the College of Design.

The university will award the scholarships to students based on their leadership, creativity and service to their communities.  

“Our hope is that this scholarship fund will forever honor the memories of three avid —and they were avid— members of the Wolfpack family, while also serving as a beacon to the campus community of the importance of diversity, acceptance, support and inclusion,” Woodson said.

NC State has committed $60,000 to the scholarship fund, but is asking the community to help build the endowment into something that will continue to aid students for years to come.

“As long as there is an NC State University —and I know that is going to be a long time— we want these scholarships to be available for students here,” Woodson said.

Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, Yusor and Razan’s father, expressed gratitude toward the university and Wolfpack community for honoring his daughters and son-in-law with the scholarship.

“We are so humbled, we are so proud and we are so honored,” Dr. Abu-Salha said. “Nothing is more awesome than supporting scholars, so that they can come here and study even if they couldn’t afford it. It is a beautiful thing, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

Dr. Suzanne Barakat, Deah Barakat’s older sister, said that education means everything to her family.

“There is a reason why my dad is crying today, and it is because he realizes that out of this horrendous tragedy, these incredible scholarships have been established to continue to provide education for so many people, and for so many years to come,” Suzanne Barakat said. “You have made a dream come true, and as Dr. Abu-Salha said, this has been the most beautiful moment since that event occurred over a week ago. We are so honored to be here today.”

Gifts to the “Our Three Winners” Scholarship Fund can be made through the NC State website at www.ncsu.edu.