Dayton Reporter

University of Dayton issued the following announcement on Feb. 23.

CareSource has given the initial $50,000 Dan McCabe Community Grant Award to a scholarship fund at the University of Dayton that supports UD Sinclair Academy students.

The McCabe grant, created in honor of retired CareSource chief of staff and CareSource Foundation chief executive officer Dan McCabe, will be awarded annually to a deserving organization. 

“In addition to making a huge impact at CareSource, Dan has been an incredible asset to the Dayton community,” said Erhardt Preitauer, CareSource president and CEO. “There is no better way to honor Dan’s legacy of service than to establish this grant. Given his commitment to supporting the University of Dayton, this is a fitting inaugural award that will change a lot of lives for the better.”

The award was made to the Dan and Jean McCabe Scholarship Fund, which McCabe and his wife created for UD Sinclair Academy students in 2018.

“Jean and I chose our scholarship to support the UD Sinclair Academy because it is a unique program which provides the opportunity for students to begin their studies at Sinclair College and graduate with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton,” McCabe said. “This Academy combines the best of two excellent local educational institutions and offers a more affordable path to a four-year degree. It is our hope that our scholarship can support individuals that might not otherwise have the financial means to attend UD. We also hope that many of these students will remain in the Dayton area after graduation and share their talents with our community.”

The UD Sinclair Academy removes barriers to transfer with nearly 100 pathways from a Sinclair associate to a UD bachelor’s degree. Students have access to academic advisors on both campuses and success professionals at UD who help with any questions or issues that might arise along the way. They receive transparent four-year financial information upfront. They also can join UD clubs and activities while taking classes at Sinclair and study at the library, work out at UD’s RecPlex, participate in the marching band, and more.  

Senior Andrew Findley said the Academy and the McCabe scholarship made it possible for him to pursue a civil engineering degree from UD.

“As the eighth of 11 children in my family, I had to be conscious of the cost of college,” Findley said. “The Academy and the McCabe scholarship allow me to focus on my education instead of the debt I would have incurred.”

Junior Mei-Lin Williams said the Academy allowed her to get involved in the Asian American Association as well as five other UD student organizations while taking classes at Sinclair.

“The program allowed me to experience the UD community before I was living on campus and because of that, I already had so many friends on my first day of being an official Dayton Flyer,” Williams, a communication major, said. 

“The UD Sinclair Academy was a good choice for me because I received opportunities from both schools. I had double amounts of support from faculty and double amounts of resources at a fraction of the tuition cost,” she said. 

The Academy, which launched in 2016, has enrolled nearly 500 students as of fall 2021. More information is available online.

Original source can be found here.