News Announcement
For more information, please contact Cheryl Kight
or Lynne Briggs, 614-649-1950 ext. 111

THE CHARLOTTE R. SCHMIDLAPP FUND, FIFTH THIRD BANK, TRUSTEE, MAKES $60,000 SCHOLARSHIP GIFT TO THE OHIO FOUNDATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES

The Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee, was established by Jacob G. Schmidlapp, former Fifth Third Bank president, in honor of his daughters.  Mr. Schmidlapp had already lost his wife, mother, and a daughter in a railway accident, when, in 1907, his other daughter Charlotte was killed in an auto accident.  He established the fund, which promotes access for women in the fields of science, medicine and technology, to allow other young women, as his daughters could not, to realize their dreams. 

In 2003-2004, the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Scholarship Fund was established to provide scholarship support annually through The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) Ohio Scholars Program to women majoring in math, science or engineering at OFIC member colleges. 

With a cumulative giving total of nearly $400,000, the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Scholarship Fund has supported the mission of OFIC to provide access to independent higher education to Ohio’s students for 7 years.   Currently, 14 students enrolled in OFIC member colleges and universities are receiving financial support from this scholarship program.

Cara Ann Smith, a future mathematics educator, is a senior at Ashland University with a double major in Mathematics and Integrated Mathematics.  Cara received a scholarship from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund for the 2009-2010 academic year and wrote to her donor, “I am paying for my education myself and work two part-time jobs, so I truly appreciate this scholarship assistance.  The scholarship is helping me stay enrolled in a school where I can develop a deep content knowledge of mathematics, become a mathematics educator and eventually pass my love for mathematics on to my students.”

OFIC, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, is the primary corporate and foundation solicitation organization for 34 Ohio independent colleges and universities. OFIC member colleges collectively enroll 98,000 students.  For 60 years the Foundation has worked to highlight the leadership, value and excellence of independent higher education.  Through contributions raised in annual solicitations of businesses and foundations OFIC has provided unrestricted operating funds and scholarship assistance, thereby assuring continuation of excellence in independent higher education.  OFIC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Ohio’s corporate leaders, as well as presidents of the 34 member colleges.

The member colleges are:  Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bluffton University, Capital University, Cedarville University, University of Dayton, Defiance College, Denison University, The University of Findlay, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Franklin University, Heidelberg University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Lake Erie College, Lourdes College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Union College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, Notre Dame College, Oberlin College, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein College, Urbana University, Ursuline College, Walsh University, Wilmington College, Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster. 

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