Gillian Groves and Gerald Petersen
Established in April 2018 with gifts from Gillian Groves (BS ’79, BS ’82) and Gerald Petersen. This merit-based scholarship is awarded to students enrolled in the College of Engineering participating in the Women in Engineering program.
Gillian attended Ohio State University and earned a degree in Computer and Information Science in 1982. During the 1980’s women were not very common in Engineering. Gillian decided to establish her scholarship to be part of the reason why women in engineering increased. After college she began working at Texas Instruments and found that she would be one of, if not the only, woman in the room. She was hopeful that by providing funds for women to study engineering that it would encourage young and bright students to pursue engineering without a hindrance. She also noted that about 15-20 years after she started her career the number of women in engineering and math careers was dropping, she felt an even deeper urge to be part of the solution.
She loved her time at Ohio State and is incredibly grateful for the time she spent on campus. The support provided during her senior year and her career search is by far her most precious memory.
-September 2023