UC scholarship honoring a family’s matriarch continues
Norma Wellman Cobb Scholarship Fund supports engineering and business students
“I get chills thinking about what she means to our family,” says Norma Wellman Cobb’s grandson, Thomas Beach, reflecting on how his grandmother’s perseverance and unwavering belief in the power of education shaped generations.
The Great Depression created many challenges, especially for those pursuing higher education. Yet, Wellman, CEAS ’36, pushed forward with determination and grace. Her resilience became the foundation of a life defined by quiet encouragement, support and purpose.
Norma Wellman Cobb in 1931. Photo/Provided.
Born on April 9, 1913, Wellman was raised in Cincinnati. Though her family came from modest means, her parents valued the pursuit of knowledge and instilled their daughter with a strong work ethic.
As a talented artist and scholar, Wellman excelled in school, graduating from Withrow High School in 1931 with high academic honors.
Following her high school graduation, Wellman enrolled in the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science, working towards a commercial engineering degree (this would now be equivalent to a degree in business administration).
Obtaining a degree in the wake of tragedy
By 1935, Wellman had lost both of her parents — her father in 1928 and her mother seven years later. With their mother’s passing, Wellman assumed responsibility for raising her younger brother, Albert Wellman, A&S ’45, who was just 12 years old at the time.
In the wake of losing her parents, managing an education during the country’s most severe economic crisis and raising her younger brother, Wellman worked with an unfaltering spirit, working full-time in the co-op program and part-time while taking classes.
Norma Wellman Cobb on her UC graduation day, June 5, 1936. Photo/Provided.
“She was extremely proud to be the first woman in her family to get a college education,” says her grandson, and her campus life reflected that pride. As a member of Phi Delta sorority — which later merged with Alpha Delta Pi — along with her involvement in the UC student paper, The News Record, and her membership in Pi Chi Epsilon — a women’s honorary engineering sorority — Wellman was no stranger to how powerful a campus community can be.
In a 1950 article for the Cincinnati Times-Star — a local paper active from 1880 to 1958 — Wellman published the article, “Homemaker Believes College Prepares One for Parenthood,” reflecting on how her college education equipped her with proper life skills.
“The technical training I received at the University of Cincinnati in commercial engineering was most valuable to me: It assured me a place in the business world. Having earned an engineering degree, I gained confidence in my own ability. It was a real achievement to obtain a degree during the depression years,” Wellman wrote.
Funding the future: Wellman’s legacy
Albert Wellman, photograph from 1941. Photo/Provided.
Following her graduation in 1936, Wellman married her college sweetheart James Temple Cobb, CEAS ’34 — a fellow UC engineer, member of the Triangle Fraternity and UC Rifle Team (a team that won the 1932 National Intercollegiate Championship, earning UC its first national title). Together the couple raised Albert and four children of their own, all of whom have earned college degrees.
Following Wellman's passing in 1981, her brother — who had grown into an accomplished engineer — sought a meaningful way to carry her legacy forward. He established the Norma Wellman Cobb Scholarship Fund to uplift students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Carl H. Lindner College of Business who show the same resilience, drive and unwavering determination that his sister exemplified.
The legacy of Wellman continues through her children and grandchildren, each carrying forward her determination, commitment to education and strong work ethic. Her grandson, Thomas Beach, and her granddaughter, Katherine Dean, continue to honor her memory by contributing to the scholarship through a planned gift.
“Norma Wellman Cobb was incredibly bright. She thought that all students should be empowered,” says Thomas Beach. “Through this scholarship, our family is helping to lay forth a path for the next generation of engineers, businesspeople and leaders, demonstrating that achieving education is possible for all.”
Featured image at top: The Wellman family in 1925. Left to right: Albert Jacob Wellman, CEAS ’45, Richard Albert Wellman, Norma Wellman Cobb, CEAS ’36, Norma Mary Mueller. Photo/Provided.
This is how breakthroughs happen
Your generosity has illuminated what’s next: Student success beyond the classroom. Bearcats winning on the Big 12 stage. The gift of discovery for the health of our community. When you give to the University of Cincinnati and UC Health, you invest in the problem-solvers of tomorrow.
Madeline Schrand
Advancement Writer, Strategic Communications, UC Foundation
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