ANDOVER , Mass. (June 8, 2002) - Former President George Bush, a graduate of Phillips Academy, better known as Andover, was honored at his 60th reunion today with the announcement of a new scholarship funded in his name. The surprise announcement was greeted with cheers from alumni at their annual meeting on campus, which Bush attended with his classmates from the Class of 1942.

The George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship Fund - to be known as the Bush Scholars Program - will benefit Phillips Academy students with financial need who demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities and academic achievement.

During the Saturday event, Bush also presided over the dedication of the basketball court in Memorial Gymnasium in honor of his Andover basketball coach, Frank F. "Deke" DiClemente, who died in September 2001 at the age of 91.

Bush and members of the Class of 1942 were among 1,400 alumni and their families who attended the school’s annual Alumni Weekend for graduates of both Phillips Academy and Abbot Academy, a former all-girls school that merged with Phillips in 1973. Alumni and alumnae from graduating classes ranging from 1918 to 1997 attended the festivities that allow old friends to get reacquainted.

Bush enjoyed a distinguished career at Andover. He was president of the senior class and secretary of the student council, president of the community fund-raising group, the Society of Inquiry, a member of the editorial board of the school newspaper, the Phillipian. An outstanding athlete, he was also captain of both the varsity baseball and soccer teams, and he played forward for the school’s basketball team. Bush also served as a Charter Trustee of the school from 1967 to 1979.

Phillips Academy, better known as Andover, is a coeducational independent high school of 1,065 students, known for its academics and the diversity of its student body. Located 21 miles north of Boston, the academy was founded in 1778. Besides former President Bush, notable alumni include his son, President George W. Bush ’64, Super Bowl XXXVI Champion New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick,’71, U.S. Senator Lincoln D. Chafee, R- R.I., '71, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D- R.I., '86 , and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder '63.