Ohio Northern University has announced the establishment of the Buster Rozier Jr. Nursing Incentive Scholarship for Minority Students Endowed Fund.

The scholarship, totaling approximately $30,000, will financially assist minority students pursuing nursing degrees at ONU. The scholarship was created thanks to the generosity of retired ONU professor Dr. Patricia Freeman and the support of Rozier's son Steven Washington.

Freeman said, “This is also a tribute to the wonderful nurses who cared for Buster when he was a patient at Lima Memorial Health System, St. Rita’s Medical Center and Kindred Hospital.”

To be eligible for the scholarship, recipients must be ONU students, including entering freshmen, deemed worthy of financial assistance, pursuing a career in nursing, and maintaining a GPA of 2.8 or higher on a four-point scale.

Rozier was born in Columbia, Ga. After serving in the army during the Korean War, he moved to Lima, Ohio, where he worked for General Motors until his retirement in 1987. He was a diabetic and, in 2013, developed serious respiratory issues associated with taking the drugs Risperdal, Lexapro and Ritalin. He passed away June 3, 2014.