Established with gifts from John M. Shepherd, the Shepherd Scholarship Award was created in April 3, 1987 and was revised December 1, 1989 and February 1, 2013. The Award provides one scholarship to a graduate of Withrow High School, a Cincinnati Public School, who intends to enroll in the College of Engineering. If there are no eligible Withrow graduates, the award is open to any high school graduate who intends to enroll in the College of Engineering, with preference given to graduates of any other Cincinnati Public High School.
Shepherd at the Alumni Awards
As the third generation to lead his family’s business, John Shepherd, with his brother Tom, was a driving force in the company’s growth into a global enterprise. Soon after college graduation in 1959, Shepherd joined his father at The Shepherd Chemical Company, a business founded by his grandfather in 1916 at Norwood, Ohio. His first role was as a salesman, selling
both metal chemicals and ceramic colors. He focused his sales effort on larger companies, emphasizing quality and service. Upon the death of his father in 1966, Shepherd became president. Both businesses, chemicals and inorganic color pigments grew significantly, and in 1980 the color business was spun off and established as a separate entity, The Shepherd Color Company. Today, Shepherd Color is a leading maker of complex inorganic color pigments with sales to customers around the world. Similarly, Shepherd Chemical expanded its global presence, including the acquisition of two complementary manufacturing plants in Europe.
Shepherd earned his bachelor’s in ceramic engineering (’58) and master’s in business administration (’59) from Ohio State, and has continued to support his alma mater over the last five decades. He served on The Ohio State University Foundation Board and is an emeritus member of the Fisher College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. He received the College of Engineering’s Meritorious Service Citation in 1992, the university’s Gerlach Development Award in 2000, the university’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2009, and the Benjamin G. Lamme Meritorious Achievement Medal in 2017.