Ruth Alice Trostle Endowed Memorial Scholarship (F)

The Ruth Alice Trostle Endowed Memorial Scholarship was established in 2020 in her memory by her son, Dr. Richard Murray Trostle. The endowed scholarship helps realize for others, her lifelong vision of attending college and perpetually extending her dream to women and minority students. Ruth Mitchell was born in 1918 in Barberton, Ohio into a typical northeast Ohio low-income family who deemed the pursuit of a university education an inappropriate activity for a young woman. The second eldest sibling and only daughter, Ruth was charged with raising her eight brothers and carrying-out traditional chores assigned to women in the household. Ruth very much wanted to attend The University of Akron and become a nurse. However, opportunities in the early 20th century for women to advance through higher education were seriously limited and the family funds went to the boys first for their education. So her dreams went unmet and always remained just dreams.

In 1940, Ruth married Richard A. Trostle and moved to Southern California where employment opportunities were better. Richard became a machinist and Ruth stayed at home and raised two children. She lived out her life in the Los Angeles area but never lost her deep love for Ohio. As her longing for Ohio left a hole in her soul, so did her feeling of incompleteness at never having had the opportunity to advance herself through higher education. She had a strong business sense and ran her son-in-law’s print shop for some time. It gave her a great sense of accomplishment and value that she had been denied growing up. She was married for 61 years and passed away in 2001.

Living in California, Ruth returned often to Ohio and, on one of those trips, gave birth to a son. Born in Akron, Richard Murray Trostle spent his first few months of life in Ohio before the family returned to California, where he grew up. Ohio was not the home to Richard as it was to his mother, but later in life he would come back to Ohio and re-discover his roots. It is in honor of that home and the unfulfilled dreams that his mother experienced, that he established this scholarship. It is to see that young women today have the opportunity that was denied his mother, and that they can experience a fulfilling and rewarding career in the sciences. But more importantly, that they can contribute the energy and compassion to the world that accompanied his mother through her years, and so the spirit of her dream can become the substance of their reality.

Succeeding his mother’s dream by way of her loving and unwavering influence, Dr. Trostle received a bachelor’s of arts degree from Whittier College in Southern California in 1964, a Master’s in Public Health degree from Yale University in 1978 and a Doctorate in Public Health from UCLA in 1990. Dr. Trostle served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Southeast Asia and a community organizer in the southern U.S. He worked for 23 years at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which began with a postdoctoral fellowship with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and ended as a Foreign Service Health Officer. Dr. Trostle was a USAID representative serving on a special White House Working Group on the International Health Regulations and his career embraced many partnerships with the World Health Organization, the Global Alliance on Vaccine and Immunization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Gates Foundation and numerous other bilateral and multilateral agencies and organizations. In 2007, Dr. Trostle was awarded the Distinguished Honor Award from USAID and in 2010 USAID honored him with the Superior Honor Award.

In recognition of his mother’s unique role in his life and his personal interest in STEM as a significant resource and stimulus to better humanity, The Ruth Alice Trostle Endowed Memorial Scholarship will perpetuate his mother’s aspiration to attain a college education and contribute to field of science.

The Ruth Alice Trostle Endowed Memorial Scholarship supports academically talented students with a strong work ethic, who are personally motivated to join the broad intellectual life offered by the University and its STEM programs.

Candidates eligible for consideration are female students, enrolled full-time pursuing an undergraduate major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines. Candidates must have financial need or demonstrate economic hardship, with first consideration given to minority female students.

The University Scholarship Committee will select recipients based on the above criteria. The scholarship is renewable if recipients maintain all requirements and remain in good standing with The University of Akron.