Named scholarships & funds
When it comes to earning a college degree, the greatest obstacle can be funding.
For this reason, The University of Akron is pleased for the opportunity each year to assist talented, deserving students achieve their dreams, thanks to more than 1,300 named scholarships established through the kindness and generosity of thousands of °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ alumni and friends, corporations, and foundations.
Scholarships truly are the best way to ensure that today’s students persist to graduation. Scholarships allow students to enroll full time and remain focused on their studies; they also reduce drop-out rates, decrease the stress of student loans, and shorten the road to graduation.
If you are interested in making a significant contribution to student success, please consider a gift to scholarships. You may also establish a named scholarship at The University of Akron, which can be created to honor a living person, in memory of a loved one, or to contribute to the growth of an area of study.
To learn more, please contact the Department of Development at 330-972-7238.
How do I apply for a scholarship?
This is not the page to apply for scholarships.
Students who want to apply for scholarships should visit the scholarship page on the Financial Aid site. You can find the link for the online application here.
The Department of Development does not accept applications for or distribute scholarships. Scholarships are distributed through the University’s Office of Student Financial Aid.
Search for a Named Scholarship
Slezak, Cynthia L. Scholarship for Women in Engineering Students
The Cynthia L. Slezak Scholarship for Women in Engineering Students was established in 2014, and revised in 2023, by Cynthia Slezak, who earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron in 1978, during a time where approximately 9% of all engineering graduates nationally were women. With this scholarship, Ms. Slezak intends to assist deserving sophomore, junior and senior engineering students with support for tuition, fees, and/or on-campus housing costs at The University of Akron in hopes of increasing interest in the STEM profession to the underrepresented.
After graduation from The University of Akron, Ms. Slezak enjoyed working for several engineering firms before she started at Koch Engineering, where she earned honors as a top producer in the sales organization. In 1988, she founded her own company, Ozone Engineering, a sales, consulting, and engineering firm specializing in all applications of ozone for the benefit of customers worldwide.
The most recent Science and Engineering indicators report (2022) indicated that women represented about 34% of all STEM workers in 2019. In 2019, 31% of women with a STEM bachelor's degree entered STEM occupations whereas 20.9% of men with similar attainment worked in engineering occupations (Digest of Education Statistics, 2019).
Cynthia seeks to contribute to students philanthropically with the same mission as the Society of Women Engineers: strive to empower women to achieve their full potentials within careers in engineering; expand the image of the engineering professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life; and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.
The Cynthia L. Slezak Scholarship for Women in Engineering Students is meant to assist promising sophomore, junior and senior students with financial need who are pursuing engineering degrees at The University of Akron. Applications for the scholarship will be accepted from current students (using the College of Engineering General Scholarship Application) who have completed the first year in pursuit of an engineering degree. Applicants will be participants in or volunteers of the Women in Engineering program or members of the Society of Women Engineers at The University of Akron. Preference will be given to students pursuing a degree in chemical engineering, and to students from Ohio.
Selection will be made by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies with input from the Director of the Women in Engineering Program and the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering. Selection of the recipient for The Cynthia L. Slezak Scholarship for Women in Engineering will be based on both the financial need of the applicant and the completed student application. Recipients may use the award for tuition, fees, books, meal-plans and/or on-campus housing. The number of recipients and scholarship amounts will be determined as funds are available. Awards used for expenses other than qualified educational expenses are reportable and may be taxable to the recipient.
To make a tax-deductible gift to this scholarship, please visit °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ’s . Select “A different designation” from the drop-down menu and enter “Cynthia Slezak Scholarship” in the text box. Thank you!
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