the Robert L. Zangrando Memorial Endowed Scholarship

The Robert L. Zangrando Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established in 2019 by friends and family in memory of Robert L. Zangrando, a University of Akron history professor from 1971 to 1994.

Bob was born on May 16, 1932, to Silvio and Margaret (Troestler) Zangrando, in Albany, N.Y. He attended Brown University and graduated with a B.A. in History and Sociology from Union College in 1958. Bob received both his graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania – an M.A. in American History in 1960, and a Ph.D. in American History in 1963. He was an Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University, Assistant Executive Secretary of the American Historical Association, and a lecturer at Yale University, where he also served as the history editor at Yale University Press. Bob came to The University of Akron in 1971, where he specialized in 20th century African-American and Women’s History. Bob published three books, serving as co-editor of Civil Rights and the African-Americans: A Documentary History; author of The NAACP Crusade Against Lynching; and co-author of Walter F. White: The NAACP’s Ambassador for Social Justice.

Bob was a tireless supporter of and advocate for civil rights his entire life. He taught in a freedom school in Mississippi as part of the Freedom Summer in 1964 and was especially honored to be selected by the NAACP for a presentation at the Library of Congress celebrating the ’First One Hundred Years of the NAACP.1

Bob was unstinting in his advocacy for women’s rights. He served on the boards of the Akron Rape Crisis Center and Planned Parenthood, was the first male recipient of the Feminist of the Year Award from Akron Area National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1990, and was a member of the Ohio Chicago Arts Project (O-CAP) that successfully brought Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party to Cleveland, Ohio in May 1981. This scholarship is intended to honor Bob’s lifelong commitment to promoting equal rights and educational opportunities for minority students who, in turn, use their abilities and education to serve their local communities.

The Robert L. Zangrando Memorial Endowed Scholarship shall be awarded annually as funds are available to an undergraduate student in any field of study at The University of Akron, with first consideration given an African-American student. Selection criteria shall also include financial need, community involvement and academic achievement. Recipient selection will be made by the University of Akron Scholarship Committee.