The APWA Kansas Chapter scholarship program began at Kansas State University in 1987 with the first scholarship awarded for $500 ($250 per semester) to one student. By 1999, the chapter had raised enough funds to increase the scholarship amount to $1000 per school year and offer one scholarship each to K-State and KU. Since then, the Kansas Chapter has done an incredible job fundraising for the scholarship program, showing the dedication and commitment its members have for their profession. Due to the Chapter’s continued fundraising efforts, we are now able to offer five scholarships to the three universities in Kansas with accredited engineering programs at $2000 each: Kansas State University, University of Kansas, and Benedictine College.
In 2010, the APWA Kansas Chapter wanted to recognize a long-time friend and advocate for public works and Kansas State University and named the K-State scholarship in honor of Steve Webb. Steve passed away in February of 2010 after a short, but very courageous fight with cancer. Some of the highlights of Steve’s professional life and career include:
- Steve earned his BSCE from Kansas State University in December of 1978. His wife Jean is a native Kansan and earned her BSCE from KSU in May of 1979.
- Steve and Jean are both life members of the KSU Alumni Association.
- Steve’s love and loyalty to KSU never waned. His email address was ksucat78@embarqmail.com.
- Steve worked for various public and private organizations his entire career, but always in the field of municipal engineering and public works. Those assignments were either in Kansas or Florida. He started after college for the City of El Dorado, Kansas as a project engineer. After 5 years he became the City Engineer of that community where he continued for almost 2 more years. The rest of his career was with consulting engineers where he worked primarily in the transportation and traffic engineering fields.
- Steve was a licensed professional engineer in Kansas.
- Steve was an active member of APWA. He spent 7 years on the Executive Committee of the Kansas Chapter.
- Beginning in the 1980’s, when the Kansas Chapter began to devote the proceeds of the annual golf tournament to the scholarship program, Steve organized and ran the tournament until work took him to Florida the first time. Both when and when not running the tournament, Steve was always a contributing player.
- Steve was always involved in raising funds for scholarships. He actively promoted the public works/engineering profession to young students at science fairs, math counts, career days, and by providing internships to engineering students.
Eligibility Requirements:
1. Applicants must be enrolled as an undergraduate student at Benedictine College, University of Kansas, or Kansas State University in a curriculum which could possibly lead to a career in Public Works. Preference will be given for Civil Engineering students.
2. Applicant must be in good academic standing with respect to the requirements established by the School of Engineering at each University.
3. Applicant must be classified as a junior or senior for the year in which they receive the scholarship and must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester.
Scholarship Application:
The applicant shall complete this application form and shall include an essay discussing their public works knowledge and experience. The essay should discuss the student’s knowledge of public works, what aspect of public works they are most interested in pursuing after graduation, and the reasons for this decision. The University will verify that the student will be a junior or senior in the upcoming school year. After completing the application and essay, this information will be automatically submitted to Jennifer Hancock, Scholarship Chair for the Kansas Chapter of APWA. If you have any questions about the scholarship or the application process, you may contact Jen at jenhancock@smhconsultants.com.
Selection Process:
1. Scholarship recipients will be chosen by the APWA Scholarship Committee based on merit as determined by evaluating an application submitted by the interested student. A personal interview may be requested.
2. Merit evaluation will include academic performance/capacity for successful degree completion and licensing, extracurricular activities, community involvement, and employment experience.
3. Preference will be given to candidates with references from APWA members.
4. Preference will be given to candidates expressing an interest in entering the public works field upon graduation, and to non-traditional students. A non-traditional student is defined as an older student who has returned to school full-time after working or serving in the military.
5. Preference will be given to candidates who are Kansas residents.
Scholarship Award:
The scholarship award will be made in the form of a check issued to the selected student in the amount of $1000 each semester to be used for tuition, fees, books, or other items as needed.