Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 22, 1995                   TAG: 9505230054
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HOLLINS TO RECEIVE $2 MILLION

The donation, announced during commencement exercises Sunday, is the largest sum ever pledged to the college, said spokeswoman Linda Steele.

Batten has been surrounded by Hollins graduates all his life. His mother, Dorothy Bass, graduated from Hollins in 1924; Jane Batten is a 1958 graduate; and the Battens' daughter, Dorothy Rolph, graduated in 1985.

Frank Batten, a resident of Virginia Beach, is a former Hollins trustee. As chairman of Landmark Communications, he oversees a corporation that owns the Roanoke Times & World-News; newspapers in Norfolk and Greensboro, N.C.; television stations and other media properties.

The money will be paid to the college over three years and added to an endowment fund containing about $53 million received during the college's 153-year existence. Interest from the endowment fund goes toward scholarships.

In response to the Batten gift, the college will establish the Batten Leadership Scholars program. Beginning next year, the program will annually provide scholarships to eight sophomores planning careers in management.

In addition, the Battens' gift will permanently fund three annual scholarships for freshmen ranging from $7,000 to $14,000; these scholarships are normally paid out of the college's operating budget and are among at least 10 issued under the 15-year-old Hollins Scholars program.

Tuition, room and board at Hollins College cost $19,745 per year. More than half of the students receive grants, loans or opportunities to work on campus that defray more than $14,000 of a year's expenses.