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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
New Iowa State ag scholarships available to Eastern Iowa students
$1.5 million in funding comes from the estate of Leonard and Evelyn Dolezal
Apr. 17, 2023 5:00 am
Iowa State University is offering $1.5 million in new scholarships for students from Linn, Johnson, Clayton and Fayette counties who pursue studies in ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Students from Kennedy, Jefferson, Prairie, Mount Vernon, Center Point-Urbana, Alburnett and Solon high schools are among those who have received the scholarships.
The Leonard and Evelyn Dolezal Scholarship Program was made possible through the Dolezal estate.
The Dolezals farmed in Linn and Johnson counties all their lives. Leonard died in 2018 at age 95 and Evelyn died in 1999 at age 73. In 2013, Leonard Dolezal donated $2 million for an auditorium in ISU’s Curtiss Hall in memory of his wife, and also endowed a professorship and donated farmland to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The Dolezal scholarships are being offered in partnership with the city of Cedar Rapids, the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Kirkwood Community College and local school districts.
Andrew Zehr, director of marketing and new student programs with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said Cedar Rapids is an “economic industry powerhouse” in Iowa, with “great agriculture and food production companies looking to Iowa State to provide some of their workforce.”
“One of the strengths we have as a college is we retain that workforce in the state,” Zehr said.
Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences also trains future agriculture teachers — a growing demand in Iowa high schools. For example, Prairie High launched a new agriculture program a couple of years ago and is now planning on adding a second instructor.
Scott Smalley, associate professor and teacher education coordinator at the college, said there is a new shortage of agriculture teachers as those programs grow.
Agriculture teachers are often pulled to other curriculum as needed, since they are also qualified to teach classes such as computer science and family consumer science or food science, he said.
Within six months of graduating, more than 99 percent of the program’s graduates have jobs, Smalley said.
Mike Retallick, chairman of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said there is a lot of opportunity for people who didn’t grow up on a farm or with a connection to agriculture to enter those careers.
“The world’s in their hands, and they have so many opportunities to create new business and industries,” Retallick said.
There are many careers in agriculture that might not be thought of as traditionally agriculturally related, Retallick said. “The careers are so vast, from mechanics to chemical sales and fertilizers to banking and accounting and all kinds of other things.”
The scholarships are available for freshmen and transfer students — particularly those from Kirkwood Community College — and Iowa State’s current student body.
Applications for the scholarships can be made through OneApp, the award portal at ISU. For more information, visit financialaid.iastate.edu/scholarships.
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