Our Donors Make an Impact
Ed and Carol Kaplan take the personal approach to giving
When Carol Kaplan attended college on scholarship, she was always grateful to the benefactor who funded her education. But she never got to meet him.
“He had confidence in me, and I never even saw him in person,” she says.
Later, after a successful career as an educator and philanthropist, when she and her husband, Ed Kaplan (ME ’65), entrepreneur and CEO of Zebra Technologies, decided to fund a full four-year scholarship for an IIT student, they did not wish to remain anonymous. They wanted to make a meaningful connection with the student.
So on a warm summer’s day in the month before her freshman year, Meaghan Rollins, IIT Kaplan Foundation Scholar, met with the Kaplans in person—not only to learn their names, but to share a pre-college conversation and get acquainted.
The Kaplans—whose gift comes from their family foundation, The Kaplan Foundation—also wanted to ensure that the scholarship was granted specifically to a student from the west side of Chicago, where they grew up.
“Ed and I met each other in kindergarten there and will always care about that area,” says Carol.
“I grew into the engineer and entrepreneur that I am today in that neighborhood,” says Ed, who engineered the world’s leading barcode technology and turned it into a global business, Zebra Technologies.
Naturally, the Kaplans were thrilled to help empower a bright, deserving student like Meaghan, who was academically competitive enough to attend Chicago's Lane Tech High School and qualified to earn a prestigious spot as an IIT Camras Scholar in addition to earning the Kaplan Foundation Scholarship.
Ed, who graduated from IIT with a mechanical engineering degree in 1965, wasn’t afraid to mention the struggles he faced during his freshman year at IIT.
“Even though I was good at math in high school, I was put on academic probation because the trigonometry class at IIT was so tough,” he revealed.
“That’s why I’m spending my summer studying calculus,” Meaghan quipped.
“Very smart idea,” Ed laughed.
Within minutes of their meeting, Meaghan was already proving herself to be a competitive, smart young woman. When Ed learned that she planned to major in electrical engineering, he presented her with a quick pop quiz:
Ed: Guess what the ratio of male to female students was when I attended IIT?
Meaghan: Hmmmm, maybe 10 to 1?
Ed: 26 to 1!
He quickly explained that many of the engineering professions are trying to change this lopsided ratio. “A female perspective in the engineering field is invaluable. We don’t get enough of it,” he said.
Meaghan explained that the lack of women in the sciences is not something she was unfamiliar with: “Even at Lane—a math and science prep high school—I was often the only girl in my science classes,” she said. She explained that her success in high school was boosted by an early love of math, thanks in part to her mother, who once studied engineering at IIT and is now working toward becoming a high school math teacher.
This piqued Carol’s interest: “Early education in the math and sciences is something I’m very passionate about.” She explained that the Kaplans also support early math, science, and literacy programs in their childhood neighborhood.
As it turns out, Meaghan volunteers at the public library tutoring kids in reading and writing. “We started a rewards program to encourage kids to read more books, too,” she said.
Ed assured Meaghan of the value of keeping an open mind to the world outside of engineering. “It’s good you’re interested in other things besides engineering,” he explained. “It’s a very focused and rigorous course of study, and engineers can tend to get tunnel vision. I took many optional courses in economics that have proved invaluable to my career,” he said.
Clearly excited to begin her studies at IIT, Meaghan explained that she wasn’t sure yet what she would do after college. “There are so many directions you can go with an electrical engineering degree,” she said.
Ed smiled at the thought of all the possibilities. “Whatever you do, keep us updated, Meaghan. And let us know how we can help—we look forward to watching you succeed at IIT!”
Hymen Krass
It is nearly certain that upon his graduation Hymen Krass (CE ’37) never dreamed that he would leave such a large legacy to his alma mater. In 1999 he made a Contract to Bequeath $500,000 to Illinois Institute of Technology. The bequest was matched dollar for dollar by the Pritzker/Galvin Challenge resulting in the establishment of the Hymen H. Krass Scholarship Fund. While his $500,000 bequest was generous indeed, positioning it with the Pritzker/Galvin Challenge meant Hymen doubled the amount of his gift.
After Krass passed away, he continued the legacy he established in 1999. Krass, through his will, left his entire estate to IIT. Although $500,000 of his bequest will fund the scholarship, the remaining amount from his estate was left unrestricted. This allows IIT to direct the additional funds to current university priorities.
Although falling short of celebrating the seventieth anniversary of his graduation from Lewis Institute, Krass leaves a legacy that will benefit students seventy years from today.