MCPHERSON ? First it was talk show host Jay Leno; now Rolls-Royce is getting into the act at McPherson College.

The school in this central Kansas community has gained national attention for teaching students how to restore antique and classic automobiles. Department director Robert Vaughn says McPherson is the only college in the nation offering an accredited degree in automotive restoration technology.

Leno, host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” and an avid classic car collector, announced a scholarship for McPherson students five years ago, one that now also involves Popular Mechanics magazine as well.

Now the Rolls-Royce Foundation, the American-based charitable arm of the British super luxury car manufacturer Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Inc., is starting a scholarship program at the school.

The first scholarship from the $20,000 fund established by the foundation will be awarded in fall 2002 to a McPherson student majoring in auto restoration.

Since the college started its program in 1976, students have restored nearly 50 classic automobiles. The cars  most of them donated  have included a 1948 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet and a 1924 Rolls-Royce 20/20 Touring model.

This semester the 50 students in the program are restoring a 1907 Chicago-built Holsman, a 1910 Maxwell and a 1932 Pierce Arrow.

The first Leno-Popular Mechanics scholarship grant, named for the legendary 1930s-era automobile engineer Fred Duesenberg, was awarded in the fall of 1998.

The endowed, full-ride scholarship is valued at more than $12,000 per year.