History

E. Wayne Kay and his wife, Beulah, lived the American dream. They both attended Iowa State University and came to Detroit in the early 1940s, where they created and managed a successful chrome-plating business.

Wayne Kay was deeply committed to SME. He served as chair of Detroit Chapter 1 in 1945 and helped organize Macomb Chapter 142. Upon her death in 1991, Beulah Kay's living trust instructed the trustee of her estate to pay the SME Education Foundation $1.6 million to establish an endowed scholarship fund in memory of her late husband, E.

Wayne Kay. It is the single largest gift received by the SME Foundation to date.

Criteria

A. Scholarship applicants must be full-time undergraduate students enrolled in a manufacturing engineering or technology degree program in the United States and Canada and working through a co-op program in a manufacturing related environment.

B. Scholarship applicants must have completed a minimum of 30 college credit hours and be seeking a career in manufacturing engineering or technology.

C. Scholarship applicants must possess an overall minimum grade point average of (GPA) 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

D. Applicants must provide evidence of demonstrated excellence that may include a project completed for their employer and must be related to manufacturing engineering or technology.

E. Applicants must provide one letter of recommendation from their employer(s) and one letter of support from a faculty member at their college or university.

F. The scholarship can be used only as a credit toward books, fees, or tuition.