the Cynthia L. Slezak Scholarship for Women in Engineering

The Cynthia L. Slezak Scholarship for Women in Engineering Students was established in 2014, and revised in 2023, by Cynthia Slezak, who earned a B.S., in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron in 1978, during a time where approximately 9% of all engineering graduates nationally were women. With this scholarship, Ms. Slezak intends to assist deserving sophomore, junior and senior engineering students with support for tuition, fees, and/or on-campus housing costs at The University of Akron in hopes of increasing interest in the STEM profession to the underrepresented.

After graduation from The University of Akron, Ms. Slezak enjoyed working for several engineering firms before she started at Koch Engineering, where she earned honors as a top producer in the sales organization. In 1988, she founded her own company, Ozone Engineering, a sales, consulting, and engineering firm specializing in all applications of ozone for the benefit of customers worldwide.

The most recent Science and Engineering indicators report (2022) indicated that women represented about 34% of all STEM workers in 2019. In 2019, 31% of women with a STEM bachelor’s degree entered STEM occupations whereas 20.9% of men with similar attainment worked in engineering occupations (Digest of Education Statistics, 2019).

Cynthia seeks to contribute to students philanthropically with the same mission as the Society of Women Engineers: strive to empower women to achieve their full potential within careers in engineering; expand the image of the engineering professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life; and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.

The Cynthia L. Slezak Scholarship for Women in Engineering Students is meant to assist promising sophomore, junior and senior students with financial need who are pursuing engineering degrees at The University of Akron. Applications for the scholarship will be accepted from current students (using the College of Engineering General Scholarship Application) who have completed the first year in pursuit of an engineering degree. Applicants will be participants in or volunteers of the Women in Engineering program or members of the Society of Women Engineers at The University of Akron. Preference will be given to students pursuing a degree in chemical engineering, and to students from Ohio.

Selection will be made by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies with input from the Director of the Women in Engineering Program and the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering. Selection of the recipient for The Cynthia L. Slezak Scholarship for Women in Engineering will be based on both the financial need of the applicant and the completed student application. Recipients may use the award for tuition, fees, books, meal-plans and/or on-campus housing. The number of recipients and scholarship amounts will be determined as funds are available. Awards used for expenses than qualified educational expenses are reportable and may be taxable to the recipient.