Scholarship program salutes Francis

In a tribute to the relationship between slain USC guard Ryan Francis and his mother, Paulette, actor Tom Arnold and the University of Phoenix have established a program that will award 100 undergraduate scholarships in recognition of supportive parents.

The First Chance Scholarship Program will provide full rides valued at about $40,000 each to attend the University of Phoenix, which has 13 locations in Southern California. The scholarships will be awarded starting next year to parents of athletes who wish to continue their education, students who don’t have the means to afford college, and parents of young children who would be the first in their family to attend college.

Arnold was filming in New Orleans in May when he learned of the player’s death in nearby Baton Rouge, La. Francis had returned home for the summer when he was fatally shot while riding in a car, the unintended victim of a dispute between two other men.

Arnold, who was raised without a mother, met Paulette Francis and was so moved by her bond with her only child that he suggested the idea of a scholarship to his brother Chris, who works for a business outsourcing company that has a partnership with the university.

“I wanted to call it ‘First Chance’ because a lot of people don’t get a first chance,” Arnold said. “There’s good kids wandering the streets that want to go to college.”

Paulette was awarded the first scholarship and is taking business classes. She has agreed to tutor Arnold, who attended a community college but never graduated and now plans to take classes through the University of Phoenix.

“Paulette and I are probably the oddest couple to end up as a part of each other’s lives,” Arnold said, “but it’s kind of perfect.”

Paulette and Arnold are scheduled to attend USC’s first game in the Galen Center on Thursday against South Carolina. Ryan Francis will be honored in a halftime ceremony.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com