New endowed scholarship highlights the University’s recently announced strategic plan, Capital Rising, emphasizing growing perpetual scholarship resources for students across the University, Law School, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary.
BEXLEY, Ohio - Capital University President Jared R. Tice, Ed.D., has established the Dr. Jared R. Tice Family Trailblazer Endowed Scholarship, a new endowed scholarship fund to support Capital students and advance one of the University’s strategic plan’s central priorities: growing endowed resources that strengthen opportunity, persistence, and long-term student success.
The scholarship will provide financial assistance to Capital University students in good academic standing, with preference for students from designated Appalachian counties in Ohio and the State of West Virginia, and/or first-generation college students.
As Capital approaches its third century, the scholarship provides a tangible example of Capital Rising’s call to grow and steward the University’s endowment, strengthen philanthropy, and expand student support resources.
Across Capital University, Capital University Law School, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, there are more than 400 endowed scholarship funds that provide valuable resources to attract, retain, and support students. Together, endowed scholarships provide approximately $3.95 million annually in student support. Capital’s endowment and University-invested funds have also grown from $147 million in 2022 to approximately $198 million today, reflecting the importance of long-term stewardship, donor generosity, and disciplined investment in the University’s future.
“Endowed scholarships extend the reach and impact of Capital University,” Tice said. “They help students and families see that a Capital education is within reach, and they allow the University to carry its mission into more communities, more households, and more futures. Opportunity is what creates access, and endowed scholarships are one of the most powerful ways we can turn opportunity into a real pathway for students.”
For Tice, the scholarship reflects both institutional strategy and personal conviction. A native of St. Marys, W.Va., in the Mid-Ohio Valley, he has long championed college opportunity, especially for students and families navigating the college-going process for the first time.
“While I am not a first-generation college student myself, I know how profoundly place, family, encouragement, and financial support can shape a student’s belief in what is possible,” Tice said. “Students from Appalachian communities and first-generation students bring extraordinary talent, resilience, perspective, and purpose to a university community. This scholarship honors the trailblazers – students who are not only pursuing their own future, but often expanding what feels possible for their families and communities.”
Capital’s connection to Appalachia is also reflected in its educational footprint and regional partnerships. The University’s Merl and Margaret Primmer Outdoor Learning Center, located in Logan, Ohio, in the Hocking Hills region of Appalachia, provides students, faculty, alumni, staff, and friends of Capital with opportunities for biological research, creative learning, ecological restoration, conservation, and environmental sustainability.
Capital also recently signed articulation agreements with Zane State College and Washington State College of Ohio, creating clearer and more affordable pathways for students served by community colleges in Appalachian Ohio to continue their education in Columbus and complete a bachelor’s degree at Capital.
“Capital’s commitment to this region is not only symbolic,” Tice said. “It is reflected in our partnerships, our learning spaces, and our desire to make the pathway to a Capital degree smoother, clearer, and more affordable. Whether through Primmer, our community college agreements, or this scholarship, we are saying to students from Appalachia and West Virginia: ‘Capital sees you, values you, and wants to be part of your future.’”
The scholarship name reflects the spirit of the students it is designed to support. Trailblazers are those who step forward with courage, navigate unfamiliar paths, and create new possibilities for those who follow. At Capital, that spirit is closely aligned with the University’s mission to transform lives through empowering academic, co-curricular, and professional experiences.
The establishment of the scholarship also serves as a broader call to grow endowed scholarships across the institution. Endowed funds create perpetual resources that support students year after year, helping Capital strengthen enrollment, improve persistence, and fulfill its promise to future generations.
“Capital Rising challenges us to align generosity with vision and stewardship with strategy,” Tice said. “Growing endowed scholarships across the University, Law School, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary is one of the clearest ways we can do that. These funds support students today while strengthening Capital for the students who will arrive decades from now.”
Capital’s endowed scholarship funds are created through donor-established investment accounts that provide lasting support. Once an endowed fund reaches the University’s minimum gift level, earnings are used to award scholarships while the principal remains invested for future growth.
Capital is accepting applications for Fall 2027. Prospective students from Appalachian Ohio, West Virginia, and communities throughout the region can learn more about Capital’s academic programs, transfer pathways, scholarships, and student experiences at capital.edu/apply.
Individuals interested in supporting the Dr. Jared R. Tice Family Trailblazer Endowed Scholarship may make a gift here. Those interested in establishing an endowed scholarship to create lasting opportunities for Capital students may learn more here or contact the Office of Advancement at gift@capital.edu.
Media Availability
President Jared R. Tice can be available for phone, video, in-studio, or on-site interviews and appearances related to this announcement, including conversations about college access in Appalachia, first-generation student opportunity, endowed scholarships and philanthropy, and Capital University’s growing regional partnerships. Please contact Denise Russell, director of Communications and Media Relations, at 614-519-4219.
About Capital University
Capital University transforms lives by empowering an inclusive community of learners through engaging academic, co-curricular, and professional experiences. Founded in Ohio in 1830, Capital is Columbus’s Original University™ and offers undergraduate, graduate, legal and theological education. Capital combines the close-knit community of its Bexley campus with the professional and cultural opportunities of Columbus to provide a personal, career-connected education where students are known and supported. Capital is included in The Princeton Review's Best 392 Colleges: 2027 Edition and has been named a 2026-27 Colleges of Distinction.