The Chicago Engineers’ Foundation
The Chicago Engineers' Foundation exists to encourage our city's young people to pursue careers in engineering, by providing scholarships to high school seniors who have been admitted to an accredited college or university engineering program. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic excellence.
The Chicago Engineers’ Club was founded in 1965 for the purpose of raising scholarship money for talented high school seniors who expressed and interest in the study of engineering. The group, which was on the verge of being disbanded, merged with the Union League Club in 1975, and adopted the name now in use, The Chicago Engineers’ Foundation of the Union League Club. Through the diligence of several board members, the organization was revitalized, and the vision of the founding was kept intact. It is a little known fact that the foundation has the longest running donor relationship with the Chicago Public School system of any of the city’s not-for-profit organizations.
In 2004, thirty-six $700 “incentive awards” were presented to high school seniors. These students were selected on the basis of academic excellence and recommendations from their school counselors.
For the past five years, high school awardees have been invited to reapply for aid, provided that they remain in good standing in the college engineering programs. Last year, 53 such student reapplied, and each received a $600 award.
Although its primary focus is its awards program, the foundation cooperates
with other local engineering societies to promote and encourage study in the
field. Recently, in cooperation with the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers,
the foundation awarded scholarships to minority students excelling in
advanced engineering programs; and through a contribution to the Western Society
of Engineers
the foundation has helped support the education programs designed for “National
Engineers Week.”
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