Spring 2007

Schroth Bequest Supports Scholarships and Miami University

Mary Louise Schroth spent less than two years as a student on Miami University 's campus, yet the experiences she enjoyed and friends she made would always be a part of her life.

Schroth, a long-time educator, advocate of education, world traveler and philanthropist, passed away on Jan. 2, 2007 , at the age of 89. As her final gift to Miami University , she left a bequest of $500,000 to support both Miami 's general fund and her own Mary Louise Schroth McGuffey Scholarship Fund.

A student at Miami from September 1936 to November 1937, Schroth was a long-time supporter of the university and created two endowments in 1990. The Mary Louise Schroth Project MIND scholarship is awarded to a minority education major, while her McGuffey Scholarship supports education majors in general.

One of the first recipients of Schroth's Project MIND Scholarship was Gabriel Lofton, Ph.D, a 2000 Miami graduate and 2001 master's degree recipient, who struck up a special friendship with Schroth.

"We'd get together to have lunch and just talk," said Lofton, now an assistant principal for Cincinnati Public Schools. "We'd talk about my career, I'd bounce ideas off her and we'd talk about issues that educators were facing. I just completed my Ph.D in educational administration from Miami , and that's probably something I wouldn't have been able to accomplish without her encouragement and support."

Schroth, who spent almost her entire life in Wyoming , Ohio , came to Miami in 1936, but, when her father passed away early in her sophomore year, she returned home to care for her ailing mother. She completed her bachelor's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati in 1942 before embarking on a lengthy career with Cincinnati Public Schools.

Schroth retired in 1973 to further pursue her passion for travel. She had accomplished a life-long goal of seeing the U.S. by 1963 and set out to see the rest of the world from there. Among Schroth's regular travel companions were Joan Bollenbacher '39 and Ruth Volz '39, life-long friends she had made at Miami . Schroth, who often spoke of her experiences with Miami 's Alumni Travel Program, was proud to have taken extensive tours of all the world's continents.

Always matching Schroth's sense of adventure was her sense of civic duty, and she was an avid financial supporter of education, the arts and her community.

"She had a beautiful spirit about her," Lofton recalled. "Through her words of wisdom and acts of kindness, she really let her light shine upon everyone she came in touch with. She had a love for people and her philanthropic endeavors, particularly a love for young people and education."