About

"Bringing people together to inform and inspire”

The College Endowment Association, founded in 1890, traces its roots to a Ladies' Art and Science class organized in 1874. Mrs. William Grant Fitch proposed a permanent organization to provide an endowment to Milwaukee College of Women (later Downer College) and secure funds to perpetuate the classes providing continuing education to women. This was the beginning of the College Endowment Association (CEA).

College Endowment is both an intellectually stimulating and philanthropic organization, presenting outstanding lectures and films on diverse topics for its members, filling the founders' purpose, as well as providing scholarships for women.

CEA derives funds from member contributions, gifts, and bequests. Members and non-members are encouraged to add to the endowment with financial donations, employee matching options, stock donations, and directly underwriting a program or scholarship.

For information as to how to support CEA programs and scholarships through donations, underwriting, or foundation support email collegeendowmentmke@gmail.com.

Donations can be sent to:

College Endowment Association
P.O. Box 1533
Brookfield, WI 53008-1533

College Endowment Scholarships

Since 1965, after Downer College was moved to Lawrence University, the agreement was established that CEA would continue to provide support to women in higher education. Since that time, the College Endowment Association has provided significant assistance to young women at Wisconsin colleges. A gift from CEA in 1999 to Lawrence University provides for an endowed CEA scholarship and a professorial chair. Additional scholarships were funded in subsequent years to students from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The Milwaukee Downer Teschner Scholarship at MSOE was founded through a a member’s bequest in the name of the College Endowment Association. Later, CEA joined with the Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee to sponsor a HER scholarship awarded to a returning adult student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. The most recent scholarship was established in 2013 for a student at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Since 2000, CEA has awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships for women in Wisconsin universities.

Scholarship Awardees

Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

Major: New Studio Practice

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Major: Architectural Engineering

Lawrence University

Major: Music Performance

UWM - HER Scholarship through the Women's Fund

Major: Psychology

During each program year, recipients are introduced to the membership providing updates on progress toward their degrees. In addition to the four CEA funded students, one receives a scholarship through the 1999 CEA grant to Lawrence University and another through a bequest scholarship at the Milwaukee School of Engineering established by a College Endowment Association member.

These scholarships have enabled CEA to help deserving women make meaningful contributions to our city and state in a wide variety of fields such as medicine, environment, engineering, education, business, music, and art.

Students are selected by each institution. Awards are made to Wisconsin women with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 after their freshman year and may continue through graduation.

Please note: CEA scholarships cannot be applied for directly. The scholarships are administered through the universities listed above.