Ralph as an Ohio State student in 1948
Established in 2007 in memory of Ralph C. Tyler ‘48, with gifts from family, friends, and the employees of the Ralph Tyler Companies. This scholarship is awarded to students studying engineering with preference given to students majoring in civil engineering who are graduates of a city high school in the Cleveland area.
Ralph C. Tyler was the first licensed Black civil engineer in Ohio. He was instrumental in highway construction in northeast Ohio and the founder of a successful business that at one time employed nearly 100 people. Tyler earned a civil engineering degree from Ohio State in 1948.
A gifted athlete, Tyler was the 1944 NCAA long jump champion and captain of the Ohio State Track Team. He was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.
He served as the assistant to the state highway director from 1966 to 1968, before being appointed as Cleveland’s service director. Tyler also worked with the Cuyahoga County engineer’s office and the architectural firm of Madison and Madison International. In 1979, he established his own office—Ralph Tyler Companies—which grew to include 95 employees and purchased the 12th-Chester Building in 1997.
Tyler served on the state board of the American Public Works Association and on the engineering college advisory boards at Ohio State and Cleveland State University.
A WWII veteran, Tyler served as a master sergeant in Asia. He also received the Civil Engineering Alumni Award in 1997, one year before his passing.