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
Donovan, Margaret F. Chair for Women in Engineering
An educator by profession, Margaret F. Donovan believes that education is the pathway to betterment and success. A staunch advocate for recognizing hard work, combined with her unique window into the challenge's women in the engineering field face, Mrs. Donovan has taken decisive action to promote gender equity in engineering education and careers in the U.S.
As one of five daughters from a family of modest means, Mrs. Donovan came to the early understanding that education was often the difference between those who succeeded and those who faced continual hardship. In her own life, she was the first member of her family to complete a college education.
Following graduation, Mrs. Donovan taught for three years before having children, then periodically for a total of 10 years in teaching and counseling. Together with her husband, the late Robert E. Donovan, she continued to make education a priority in raising her children. Following Mr. Donovan's death in 1996 and reflecting the family's long held faith in the power of education, she established The Robert E. Donovan Scholarship Fund (Donovan Scholarship) at The University of Akron. The scholarship supports women in engineering, business, and law, recognizing that women are not equally represented in some professional fields.
Establishing the Donovan Scholarship gave Mrs. Donovan the chance to see challenges faced by women engineers. This led her to establish The Margaret F. Donovan Chair for Women in Engineering (Donovan Chair), the first of its kind established in the U.S. Now, her passion and advocacy for female equality in education is being passed down to her daughter, Kara Donovan, and her granddaughters: Caitlin R. Hayes, Neve R. Hayes, Cali G. O'Donovan, and Ruby M. O'Donovan.
Established in 2001 and revised in 2021, The Margaret F. Donovan Chair for Women in Engineering creates a permanent position designed to encourage women in achieving equity in engineering and education careers.
The holder of the Donovan Chair will encourage women enrolled in °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ undergraduate and graduate engineering programs to undertake and complete engineering degrees. The Chair holder will work to generate interest in studying math and science among female elementary and high school students, as well as support programs to achieve this end. Mrs. Donovan and The University of Akron College of Engineering and Polymer Science believe that the establishment of the permanent Donovan Chair will level the playing field and make engineering education more accessible for women.
​