MU recipient of $3.5 million gift

Marquette University announced Thursday an alumni couple has gifted $3.5 million for scholarship aid to future first-generation engineering students.

The donors, Don and Fran Herdrich, were first-generation students, and this is the second scholarship they have endowed at Marquette. For nearly 30 years, they have supported the Donald J. and Francis I. Herdrich Scholarship. 

Don Herdrick is a 1966 graduate of the Opus College of Engineering. He received a master’s degree from Marquette’s Graduate School in 1968, and eventually received his MBA in night school after serving in Vietnam as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot.

His career spanned investment management positions at Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts during the firm’s successful run in the corporate buyout sector in the 1980s. And in 1986, he became a founding partner of Stonebridge Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on middle-market manufacturing businesses.

Now retired, Don Herdrick was named Marquette's Alumnus of the year in 2016. He also is a former university trustee.

Twenty-three percent of Marquette's most recent incoming class are first-generation college students, according to a news release announcing the scholarship.

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The Donald J. and Frances I. Herdrich Endowed Scholarship for Engineering will include full room and board for first-generation students in the Opus College of Engineering, beginning with the 2017'-'18 academic year. An incoming freshman will receive the scholarship each year from 2017-2021. After five years, five engineering students simultaneously will hold the scholarship, the university announced.

“Fran and I believe strongly in providing scholarship opportunities for worthy students, particularly those students who are the first in their family to attend college,” Don Herdrich said in prepared remarks. “Marquette, in particular, does an outstanding job of nurturing first-generation college students to ensure their success, which is why we are so excited to fund this scholarship at our alma mater.”

The gift provides support for students who may not have the same academic preparation advantages or family support that other students may have so they can pursue a college education, said Kristina Ropella, Opus dean of engineering. “We want to take away enough of the financial burden so they can focus on academics and share in being a part of the Marquette community.”

Marquette President Michael Lovell said the couple was diligent in crafting the new scholarship to maximize its future impact on talented, under-served students in the Milwaukee community and beyond.

“They have truly set a high standard for future donors to emulate in supporting scholarship at Marquette,” he said.