Citigroup Provides $175,000 to Missouri Colleges Fund to Address Critical Teacher Shortage.

Business and Education Editors

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2002

Check to be Presented in Conjunction with Missouri Governor Bob Holden's Business Education Roundtable on September 27, 2002 at 9:30AM

Citing a desire to invest in education in the State of Missouri, on behalf of the Citigroup Leadership Council, the Citigroup Foundation will make two grants totaling $175,000 to the Missouri Colleges Fund (MCF) to help in the Fund's efforts to address the severe shortage of qualified teachers across the State.

The grants will provide need-based financial aid to outstanding education students at the 11 MCF member independent colleges and universities. Composed of Senior Management from Citigroup's family of businesses, members of Citigroup's Leadership Council work together to play a leadership role in the state of Missouri where our more than 6,200 employees and more than 3,000 agents work and live.

A formal check presentation for the most recent grant of $100,000 will be made on September 27 by Citigroup's Dave Lowman and other members of the Leadership Council to Missouri Governor Bob Holden and Larry Schepker, President of Missouri Colleges Fund. The presentation will be held in the Mary L. Butterworth, D.O., Alumni Center of the campus of University of Health Sciences located at 1750 Independence Boulevard in Independence. The presentation will coincide with the Governor's Business Education Roundtable.

"We feel this is a critical problem for the public school districts in St. Louis, Kansas City and all across the State," said Kevin Kessinger, the Leadership Council Chair and Operations and Technology Director for the Global Consumer Bank, located in Kansas City. "It is estimated that 35 percent of Missouri's elementary and secondary school teachers will retire in the next five years at a time when student populations are growing, urban and rural classrooms are overcrowded and local school districts are reporting a serious shortage of credentialed teachers," Mr. Kessinger said said.

The Missouri Colleges Fund is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1952. It works with the outstanding private colleges and universities and leading corporate donors like Citigroup to help meet the needs of independent higher education. "The Fund has identified the teacher shortage as a primary focus of its efforts and this grant will go a long way to help us recruit and maintain students who will become outstanding teachers when they return to the classroom," said Larry Schepker, President of the Colleges Fund. "The Fund is very proud and appreciative of the partnership with the Missouri Citigroup Leadership Council and the businesses that comprise it including CitiMortgage, Citi Cards, CitiStreet, CitiFinancial, Smith Barney, Primerica and Travelers Life and Annuity," Schepker said.

"We feel that this is an important commitment for our businesses in insuring the quality of leadership in Missouri. By enhancing the quality and the quantity of teachers in Missouri communities we are directly impacting those communities in a positive fashion," said Dave Lowman, Vice Chair of the Leadership Council and Chief Servicing and Technology Officer for Citigroup Real Estate Lending located in St. Louis. The teacher shortage has received the attention of parents, the press, government agencies and business leaders like Citigroup. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reports that student populations are growing at a time when many career teachers are retiring. The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future notes that about one-third of America's teachers have taught for more than 20 years and school districts need to recruit two million teachers in the next ten years.

The Fund's member schools are independent, baccalaureate degree-granting liberal arts institutions accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. MCF member colleges' income is derived primarily from private sources.

Member schools of the Missouri Colleges Fund include: Avila College, Kansas City; Central Methodist College, Fayette; Culver-Stockton College, Canton; Drury University, Springfield; Evangel University, Springfield; Fontbonne College, St. Louis; Maryville University, St. Louis; Park University, Parkville; Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar; Westminster College, Fulton; and William Woods University, Fulton. For more information, visit them on the web at www.mocollegesfund.org.

Citigroup (NYSE:C), the preeminent global financial services company with some 200 million customer accounts in more than 100 countries, provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage, and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Salomon Smith Barney, Banamex, and Travelers Life and Annuity. Additional information may be found at: www.citigroup.com.