UC Gen-1 Success Story Garners Increased Support

This fall, when 93 new and returning Bearcats settle into life on campus, they’ll be getting more support than ever from a Cincinnati foundation that pre-dates the state’s public education system and has, to date, invested more than $100,000 to support students who are the first in their families to attend college.

A $30,000 grant this year from the Woodward Trust marks the fifth year that the local trust funds have invested in UC’s Gen-1 House, the first and still only initiative of its kind in the country.

“We are grateful to the Woodward Trust for their continued and increased support for this important program at UC,” said Provost Beverly Davenport, the University’s chief academic officer. She oversees the Division of Student Affairs, under which the Gen-1 Theme House and its related support services operate. “We understand that first-generation students truly benefit from specialized programs like the Gen-1 Theme House, and the successes speak for themselves.”

More than 94 percent of first-year students who lived in the Gen-1 Theme House returned to school for a second year, which is staggering considering that nationally, first-generation students are twice as likely as their peers to drop out of school before their second year of study, according to the

Pell Institute

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“First-generation students face an array of specific challenges, beyond financial hardships and familial responsibilities, that many of their peers do not,” said Debra Merchant, vice president of student affairs & services. “Often they don’t know others who have been to or completed college and the culture shift can be overwhelming. The Gen-1 Theme House provides a structured, focused environment where academics come first and Gen-1 students get the support they need to succeed in school and in life.”

The Woodward Trust funds will be used for scholarships for each of the 38 freshmen accepted into the Gen-1 Theme House to help them offset on-campus expenses. The funding will be distributed to students on a semester-by-semester need basis to supplement other aid. 

“Having freshmen Gen-1 students live on-campus is a critical component of our program and, we believe, our success,” Merchant said. “Students need to be immersed in the college environment. You can’t cut corners. That’s why awards like this investment from the Woodward Trust mean so much to us.”

The Woodward Trust was established in 1827 by a local tanner and his wife to support educational opportunities for Cincinnati’s most vulnerable youth. William and Abigail Woodward began by donating land to be used for Woodward High School, which exists on a different site today as Woodward Career Technical High School. Funds are awarded every year to support education for students in and from Cincinnati Public Schools. 

UC’s Gen-1 Theme House, supported by the Office of the Provost, opened in 2008 in order to provide low-income, first-generation college students with the necessary support to negotiate their freshman years successfully and earn bachelor’s degrees within six years. Currently, the Gen-1 Theme House works with students from freshman year through graduation, providing them academic, financial and social support in a residential setting characterized by a sense of community and a culture of academic success.

This initiative represents UC’s commitment to the interrelated goals of greater access, success and diversity for underrepresented and underserved student populations.