New Scholarships Keep Lasallian Tradition Alive

Scholarship endowment always has been a priority at Manhattan, since the early days when the Christian Brothers’ mission was to offer excellence in education to gifted young people regardless of their financial circumstances. These young people included children of immigrants who otherwise might not have had such opportunities. Many generations of our graduates, who have attained prominence in every field, attest to the enduring value of that mission.

Scholarships established in memory of a loved one are doubly meaningful. There is no better way to pay homage to a revered family member or friend than to memorialize their name in perpetuity. For the recipient, a scholarship award is possibly the greatest gift a young person can receive — an opportunity to develop talents that might not have been possible without this financial aid.

Four recently established memorial scholarships allow the College to offer grants to a number of talented and deserving young students.

 

The Robert G. McGrath ’52 Scholarship in Engineering was created by McGrath’s family to honor the memory of a man they describe as the kind of person who always did things the right way. He was the first in his family to attend college, and they believed that he received a superior education at Manhattan. His family would like the scholarship to help someone who not only has financial need but also shows similar character traits.

After he received a degree in electrical engineering in 1952, McGrath entered the Oak Ridge National Reactor School in Tennessee. Newly married, he and his wife, Luella, moved to Pittsburgh, where he received his M.S. in engineering and began a fruitful career at Westinghouse Electric, from which he retired after more than 30 years. In one of his last roles at Westinghouse, he led the application team of the Westinghouse Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division in receiving the first Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Upon retirement, McGrath formed his own consulting firm, Quality Quest.

During his lifetime, he was an avid advocate of citizen participation in local government. He and Luella remained active in local politics, and the two attended township council meetings and always voiced their opinions. He died in 2007 and is survived by his wife of more than 50 years; children Jean, Thomas and Richard; and his three sisters, Alice, JoAnne and Mary.

The family notified the College of their intention to establish the scholarship earlier this year. It will provide tuition assistance to financially needy engineering students, with preference given to those who participate in community-based activities.

 

The Raymond M. Maliszewski ’56 Scholarship for Engineering was established by his wife, Jean, in memory of her late husband. Maliszewski was born in Yonkers, N.Y., and attended Cardinal Hayes High School before he enrolled in the electrical engineering program at Manhattan. During his high school and college years, he was a musician and bandleader of a group called Ray Malis and the Moon Mists. Upon graduation, Maliszewski began his long career with American Electric Power (AEP) and eventually moved with the company to its new location in Columbus, Ohio. There, he was actively engaged in many aspects of the electric industry, both nationally and globally.

He received a master’s degree from New York University and attended the Sloan School Senior Executive Program at MIT. He also retained his interest in music and was an avid supporter of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony. He retired as senior vice president for system planning in 1998 and remained active in sports and travel until his death from cancer in 2007. The AEP Orange Transmission Station in Lewis Center, Ohio, was recently renamed the Raymond M. Maliszewski Transmission Station.

Jean remembers her husband lovingly, from their early days as young sweethearts when she followed his band, and had been by his side through his long and fruitful career. They were together for 51 years and are blessed with four children and four grandchildren.

 

The Francis P. Corr ’54 – John Schmidt ’29 Scholarship for Engineering was established by Mary Cay Corr in remembrance of her husband, Dr. Francis (Pat) Patrick Corr and her father, John Edward Schmidt Sr. The scholarship will be awarded to upper-level engineering students and, in keeping with Manhattan’s traditions, it is earmarked for first-generation college students in need of financial assistance.

Both Corr and Schmidt were first-generation family members to graduate from college. Corr received a degree in electrical engineering from Manhattan and went on to Yale for a master’s degree and doctorate. He was able to attend the College thanks to a four-year scholarship and another grant from New York State. A Schlumberger Fellow at Yale, he rose through the ranks at IBM to head its systems network architecture division.

Schmidt, a native of the Bronx who used to walk from Bainbridge Avenue across the parks to Manhattan College, took his talents from civil engineering into real estate management during the Depression. He was the president and CEO of several realty corporations and holding companies.

These two men, husband and father, were the inspiration for Mary to establish scholarships in their memory. She is a resident of Chapel Hill, N.C., and worked for UNC-TV. There, she founded, designed and implemented the statewide K-12 education department and trained educational TV specialists using media training modules developed for North Carolina teachers. The recipient of many educational awards, Mary has traveled and lived in France and Switzerland, and has visited many countries throughout the world.

 

The Brian Francis McCarthy ’67 Memorial Scholarship was given by Gerald P. McCarthy ’65 and his wife, Lucile, in memory of his brother, who was killed in action in Vietnam. It is awarded annually to a student enrolled in the school of arts.

In making the gift, McCarthy wrote: “We are so happy to be able to help provide a Lasallian education to young people who need financial assistance. This is in the great tradition of St. John Baptist de La Salle. May this small token of our appreciation bless Manhattan College and enable it to maintain its outstanding educational tradition.”

In describing his brother, McCarthy says: “Brian had an opportunity to attend college …. He worked hard in school learning to speak Russian. He enlisted in the Army after graduation. Brian was a man of great integrity, honor and bravery.” He hopes that this scholarship will help young people who are similarly interested in learning and in doing good works.

In addition to his generosity to Manhattan, McCarthy’s philanthropy extends to many worthy causes. He has been protecting Virginia’s environment for more than 25 years. What started out as an ecological disaster back in 1977, developed into a stroke of good luck when Allied Chemical was fined more than $13 million for years of dumping its toxic waste into Virginia’s James River. When a portion of the assessment was allocated to clean up the river, the Virginia Environmental Endowment was created. Its great success is owed in no small measure to McCarthy, who has served as its executive director since the beginning. Throughout the years, the foundation has been instrumental in preserving the natural splendor and environmental health of the beautiful state he calls his own. He and Lucile, an attorney, live in Richmond. Their daughter, Marcia, is also an attorney and son, Jeffrey ’92, is a Manhattan graduate.