Expanding support for a new generation of engineers

This summer, 20 high school students arrived at Case Western Reserve University, ready to work on a wide array of projects ranging from solar engineering to human technology. Quickly, the students were immersed within Case School of Engineering’s labs as part of the two-month Envoys program, an annual summer initiative that provides students from Cleveland and East Cleveland public schools with hands-on research, mentoring and professional development opportunities.

In 2022, Ed Lehotsky (CIT ‘76) and his wife, Joyce, established the Lehotsky Endowed Student Support Fund to provide additional support and resources for students in the nearly 20-year-old program.

“I’d like to do what Case [Western Reserve] did for me: to give underprivileged kids a head start in high school so they have the desire and tools to pursue higher education,” Ed Lehotsky said at the time of their first gift.

Three years later, after witnessing the positive impact on a new generation of students, the Lehotskys have reinforced their support of the Envoys program with an additional $1.5 million gift. This time, they also aim to support graduate students with fellowships—ideally, those same students who got their starts at CWRU in the Envoys program.

“The goal is that students come to campus as Envoys, attend Case Western Reserve for their undergraduate studies, and then remain on campus to pursue a master’s or PhD—all of which is supported by the fund,” said Christian Zorman, PhD (GRS ’91, ’94, physics), interim dean of  Case School of Engineering. “We are very thankful to the Lehotskys for their generous support of Clevelandarea students.”