In 2015, $3.9 million was awarded in scholarships to Kent State students.

The university’s foundation documented $10.9 million in grants. Out of that support is where the scholarship money comes from, according to Kent State’s 2014-2015 Financial Report.

“That money is donor directed, so it may look like less money is being given out in scholarships, but that money goes to more than just scholarships,” said Jeff McLain, vice president of Institutional Advancement. “What is happening is that other things are passing through, so the specified amount of scholarship money is just a part of the total.”

The funds for the majority of the scholarships go through two main offices – the Office of Institutional Advancement and the Financial Aid Office – before being passed down to other offices, typically located within the university’s various colleges.

 “(The $10.9 million amount) may be composed of scholarships, program support (and) support for faculty or research,” McLain said.

The Institutional Advancement office works with donors to create scholarships and to provide these opportunities for students. 

“While we raise the money, we do not administer the scholarship; that is done at the university,” McLain said. “We do not pick the recipient, but we make sure we work with the donors to outline how they want the award to be used.”

“The person who is out fundraising for that scholarship or the donor outlines what qualifications are to be met in order to give out the award.This is done through the university,” said Scott McKinney, director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship. “We don’t really inform the students about the scholarships; it is within the department that is administering the scholarship and in a partnership with Financial Aid.”

“The university has put a lot of effort and funding into scholarship opportunities for Kent State students,” said Anissa Strickland, senior associate director of Financial Aid.

“‘Students first’ is a key component to the upcoming campaign and scholarships is at the heart of students first, at least for me,” McLain said. “I would love to have such a robust scholarship program that thousands of Kent State students could be positively affected by. It is an important piece to our president and to our future.” 

Strickland said that the number of scholarships awarded by the Financial Aid Office has increased over the last few years because “we are lucky to have an administration that sees scholarship as an important part of the students educational experience.” 

 Caleigh Marten is an administration reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].