The Robinson Scholars Program, which inducted its first class in 1997, provides full college tuition, room and board and books during the students' college careers to students who otherwise would be unable to pursue a degree. The students must maintain an acceptable grade point average and graduate from high school to receive their scholarships. Each scholarship carries a value of up to $8,000 a year.

In all, 336 eastern Kentucky young people have been named Robinson Scholars since the program was launched.  Each year, UK officials plan to name a new group of eighth-graders to the program.

The program is open to eighth-graders from 29 eastern Kentucky counties, with selection based on each student's academic potential, the family's need for assistance with college-related expenses, essays and interviews. The parents of the selected students also have not attained a college degree. Students apply for consideration through their schools' guidance counselor.

Funded by earnings from coal mining and logging operations permitted on nearly 4,000 acres of the 14,000-acre Robinson Forest in Breathitt, Perry and Knott counties, the program was established by the UK Board of Trustees in 1995. The board utilized the E.O. Robinson Trust to provide increased educational opportunities in eastern Kentucky, where college attendance is historically low compared to other regions of the state.

The Robinson Trust was established in 1922 by Edward O. Robinson, a logging magnate who gave the university 14,000 acres that his firm had logged. The trust carried a stipulation that it be used primarily for reforestation and agricultural research or for the benefit of the people of the mountain region.

The students, listed by their counties of residence, are:

Bell County: Ronnie Emmanuel Benjamin Davis, son of Ronnie and Linda Lue Davis of Middlesboro, and Elizabeth Rae Saylor, daughter of Roger and Jacqueline Hoskins of Pineville;

Breathitt County: Jessica Raye Epperson, daughter of Billie Phipps of Jackson, and Jessica Irene Miller, daughter of Barbara Miller of Clayhole;

Carter County: Donald Raymond Brewster III, son of Donald Raymond and Eleanor Brewster of Grayson, and Aaron Eugene Reck, son of Debra Martin of Grayson;

Clay County: Veronica Sue Frost, daughter of Ronnie and Patricia Frost of Route 1, Oneida, and Ronald Brandon Jackson, son of Ronald Wayne and JoAnn Jackson of Route 1, Manchester;

Elliott County: Adam Dustin Ison, son of Larry and Patricia Ison of Sandy Hook, and Brittney Chelise Ison, daughter of Kim Ison of Sandy Hook;

Estill County: Charles Devon Canter, son of David and Margie Canter of Irvine, and Teresa Whitney Tipton, daughter of Kenneth and Sheila Stepp of Irvine;

Floyd County: Eric Jordan Keathley, son of Helen Hall of Galveston and Jeni Jo Spurlock, daughter of Ricky and Cheryl Spurlock of Ivel;

Harlan County: Adrienne Diane Berry, daughter of Patricia Berry of Bledsoe, and Shalena Sher'ee Tipton, granddaughter of Ray and Gertie Tipton of Wallins;

Jackson County: Lindsay Danielle Chappell, daughter of Dale and Judy Chappell of Tyner, and Jeannena Rose Hignite, daughter of Ronnie and Jody Hignite of Annville;

Johnson County: Vanessa Jane Adkins, daughter of Lon and Brenda Kay Adkins of Paintsville, and Chester Franklin Griffith II, son of Chester and Kimberly Griffith of Swamp Branch;

Knott County: Tiffany Brooke Slone, daughter of Martina Slone of Hindman, and Kayla Nichole Thornsberry, daughter of Earl and Thelma Thornsberry of Kite;

Knox County: Raymond Vernon Goss, son of Ralph Goss Sr. of Gray, and Teddie Dwayne Scalf, son of Herman and Annette Scalf of Barbourville;

Laurel County: Christopher Curtis Keen, son of Michael and Sherry Keen of London, and Brittany Nicole Nicholson, daughter of Teresa M. Nicholson of London;

Lee County: Sherman Lee Mays, son of Danny and Debra Reese of Beattyville, and Crystal Leann Wilson, daughter of Linda Wilson and James Wilson of Beattyville;

Leslie County: Shasta Lynn Napier, daughter of Pearl Wayne and Sharon Napier of Hyden, and Christopher Blake Coots, son of Albert and Laura Coots of Wooton;

Letcher County: Juanita Danyelle Fugate, daughter of Phil and Margaret Fugate of Mayking, and Lenville Jonathan Parsons, son of James and Henrietta McFarland of Whitesburg;

Magoffin County: Christopher Earl Arnett, son of Winston J. Arnett of Salyersville, and Lisa Marie Puckett, daughter of Hager and Teresa Puckett of Royalton;

Martin County: Thomas Joseph Fletcher, son of Joseph Thomas Fletcher of Inez, and Adrian Danette Stransky, daughter of Donnie and Cheryl Stransky of Lovely;

McCreary County: Ashley Brooke Perry, daughter of Rick and Brenda Perry of Pine Knot, and Isaiah Zedekiah Terry, son of Gary Terry of Stearns;

Menifee County: Amber Dawn Back, daughter of Mike Back of Wellington, and Nicole Elizabeth Lawson, daughter of Steve and Teresa Lawson of Wellington;

Morgan County: Johnathan Ray Lawson, daughter of Barbara Lawson of Ezel, and Justin Tyler Perry, son of Marita Cade of West Liberty;

Perry County: Christopher Colby Osborne, son of Jim and Lana Osborne of Hazard, and Jennifer Louise Walker, daughter of Selena Walker and Bobby Walker of Combs;

Pike County: Tabatha Lynn Doyle, daughter of Victor and Mary Jane Sanders of Ashcamp, and Diana Lynn Tackett, daughter of Sonya and Shawn Caudill of Myra;

Powell County: Gregory Paul Drake, son of Rosetta Drake of Slade, and Melissa Ann Eversole, daughter of Mike and Frances Eversole of Clay City;

Rockcastle County: Amy Korene Barnett, daughter of John and Edith Barnett of Mount Vernon, and Cody Brandon Laswell, son of Wanda Laswell of Mount Vernon;

Whitley County: Lonnie Ray Gross Jr., son of Lonnie Gross Sr. of Corbin, and Joshua Bras Prewitt, son of Patricia S. Prewitt of Williamsburg;

Wolfe County: Sarah Lynn Gillespie, daughter of Larry Gillespie of Campton, and Johnny Lee Hollon, son of Jackie and Emma Jean Hollon of Pine Ridge.