Keith Schwab Family College of Business Scholarship

This scholarship encourages and supports students who have declared a major within the College of Business who meet the requirements of the WSU Presidential Honors Scholarship Program while attending Winona State University.

Criteria

Each first time recipient must be an incoming freshman coming to Winona State University directly from high school and enrolled full-time at WSU (minimum of 12 credits each semester)
Each recipient must have a high school GPA of 3.80 or higher or be in the top 10% of their graduating class
Each recipient must have a declared major in the College of Business
Each recipient must demonstrate a leadership role through one of the following:
1. Community engagement through volunteering
2. Campus engagement (ongoing leadership roles while attending WSU)
3. Employment in a field related to their chosen field of study

Biography/Motivation

The Schwab family believes in the value of higher education and is passionate about making a difference in the lives of students. Keith Schwab established the Keith Schwab Family Scholarship as an endowed fund through the WSU Foundation in 1990. Over the years, the endowment has grown with additional gifts from family and friends.

The familys connection to Winona State University spans three generations and goes back to the 1940s when Keith attended the Phelps school on the WSU campus. Marilyn attended Winona State as a freshman in the 1950s and their daughter, Anne, earned her second college degree in Computer Information Systems from WSU. Their son-in-law, Brad, earned his MBA from WSU.
The Schwab Company was a family owned construction and development business and an integral part of the Winona building industry. Peter Schwab, Keith’s grandfather, was its founder, starting the company in the late 1880’s. He was followed by his son, P. Earl Schwab, then Keith Schwab. Keiths son Peter is the current President of Schwab LLC. The Schwab Company and WSU collaborated on a number of campus building projects for more than 40 years, including the WSU East Lake Apartments.
Keith and Marilyn enjoyed living and raising their family in Winona and appreciate the Universitys contributions to the community. Keith passed away in 2002; however, the Keith Schwab Family Scholarship continues his legacy by supporting students as they work toward their college degrees. Helping students further their education on their way to becoming productive citizens is important to the Schwab family.