Jason J. Spindler Memorial Scholarship

The Jason J. Spindler Memorial Scholarship was established in February 2019 by a 1963 University of Akron alumnus and friend of Jason Jacob Spindler and his family. Jason was born in Houston, Texas on January 21, 1978, and tragically lost his life in a terrorist attack in Nairobi, Kenya on January 15, 2019, where he lived and worked.

Jason attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his bachelor’s degree in International Business and Finance. After graduation, he worked in investment banking for Solomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in New York City. Jason’s life and subsequent career path were profoundly changed by the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers. The experience of helping to rescue people from the rubble led him to leave his Wall Street career and begin a life of service to others.

He became a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in 2005 and moved to Peru, where he helped launch a multi-million dollar, farmer-owned agribusiness. He returned to the United States, where he earned a juris doctorate from New York University School of Law. He was awarded the Catherine B. Reynolds Fellowship for Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship, as well as the Helton Global Human Rights Fellowship, and had advised pioneering impact investing organizations, including the Acumen Fund, Ashoka, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

In 2009, Jason co-founded I-DEV International, serving as its CEO and Managing Director. I-DEV aims to reduce poverty through investing in developing economies, and has been recognized, along with Jason, for its impact by such organizations as the Clinton Global Initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. Jason was an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and served as keynote speaker for countless development conferences around the world. A tireless justice advocate, Jason dedicated his life to serving developing communities and truly believed in the potential of underdeveloped economies and their people.

In establishing this scholarship, the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, desires to financially assist one hardworking, graduate student in the Masters of Business Administration program at The University of Akron College of Business Administration. The candidate should possess, as Jason did, an interest in improving the lives of people and communities in underdeveloped economies around the world.

Like Jason, the donor believes strongly in the power of education and its ability to impact an individual’s future. To be eligible for this scholarship, University of Akron students must be enrolled in the Master’s of Business Administration Program in the College of Business Administration. The scholarship is open to new or current graduate students, full or part-time, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher for tuition and fees.

Along with an application, applicants must submit an essay (a two page maximum) describing how they exemplify Jason’s ideals to help others. First consideration will be given to a student who, like Jason, desires a life of service to others. This can be displayed by being involved in organizations or programs that directly help others in need, or having a desire to create or working at a company that provides job opportunities to underserved people or communities. Also, an applicant with a medical background who desires to earn an MBA will be considered.

The College of Business Administration’s MBA scholarship committee will select the recipient. In addition to the above criteria, the committee will consider factors such as the student’s interest in making the world a better place, financial need and community service.