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Two UC alumni have gifted millions to the university for first-generations scholarships.
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The University of Cincinnati is establishing another scholarship fund for students after a multimillion-dollar gift.
Alumni Jagtar “Jay” Chaudhry and P. Jyoti Chaudhry have gifted $4 million to the university to establish the Chaudhry Family Scholarship Fund.
The fund will support first-generation, Pell-eligible students in UC’s Gen-1 Impact House, which is a fraternity/sorority-like house in which students from similar backgrounds live together and are provided with resources like financial planning and nutrition. Impact House students also have a service requirement.
“We are very grateful for the excellent education we got at UC which played a significant role in our success. In fact, both of us got tuition scholarships for our graduate studies without which we couldn’t afford to get our master’s degrees,” the Chaudhrys said in a news release.
The gift from the Chaudhrys will fund a University of Cincinnati education for about 150 students, starting in the fall semester of 2025. It will fill the financial gaps of every Pell-eligible student in the Impact House after Federal Pell and other grants are awarded.
“I am truly grateful that Jay and Jyoti are dedicated partners in our ongoing commitment to first-generation students,” Neville Pinto, UC’s president, said in the release. “Their generosity will forever change the lives of these students, their families and their communities.”
The 2025 fall semester will the Gen-1 program’s 18th year. Its first to second year-retention rate is 98%, compared to the national rate of 68% for first-generation students, according to the release. UC’s Gen-1 students also complete their degrees at a rate of about 78%, compared to the national rate of 29%.
“This scholarship fund is a gesture of our gratitude and appreciation to our alma mater that will help many needy students to complete their college education and change their and their families’ lives,” the Chaudhrys said in the release.
Jay Chaudhry is a tech entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Zscaler, a publicly traded California-based cloud security company. He holds two master’s degrees from UC: one from its College of Engineering and Applied Science and the other from the Carl H. Lindner College of Business. He was a first-generation student from the Indian village of Panoh in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Jyoti Chaudhry earned her MBA from the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
According to Forbes, Jay Chaudhry is currently worth $11.6 billion. He ranks No. 84 on the Forbes 400 list and No. 177 on its Billionaires list.
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