Of all the thousands of decisions handed down by the late U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Harold F. White during his distinguished 40-year career, perhaps the most significant was his decision to support students at The University of Akron.
Judge Harold F. White '52
In fact, the 1952 Akron Law graduate, who passed away August 5, 2014, and his late wife, alumna Jeannette Murie White, a 1964 education major, made their first donation to the University in 1966 – establishing themselves as benefactors for nearly five decades.
Over the years, the couple, who were college sweethearts and raised three children, steadily expanded their involvement with the University – and their giving.
In 1982 they created The Harold F. and Jeannette White Scholarship Fund in the School of Law and endowed both The Edna Cornelia Berry Nursing Scholarship (in memory of Jeannette’s aunt) and The Laura Murie Leafgren Nursing Scholarship (in memory of Jeannette’s sister). In 2008, the couple made a gift that enabled the renovation of the dean’s suite in Mary Gladwin Hall, and when Jeannette passed away in November of that year, Harold established The Jeannette White Memorial Scholarship in 2009 to assist UA-bound students from Jeanette’s alma mater, East High School in Akron.
In all, the Whites contributed more than $500,000 to the University and even provided for UA in their will. Harold also designated portions of a generous gift from his IRA to support the scholarships he established with Jeannette, as well as the fund he created in her honor.
“I have always found a tremendous satisfaction in assisting students achieve their dreams,” Harold once said. “Throughout my career, I witnessed firsthand the advantage an education provides to every individual who stood before me. Helping to ensure that future generations of young people reach their goals through education is important to me – and has the added benefit of lifting up our entire nation.”
The Honorable Judge White, who was 94 at the time of his death, worked in private practice and as a city and county prosecutor before his 1958 appointment to the federal bankruptcy bench, where he held the distinction of being the most senior bankruptcy judge in the United States. He also was a former member of UA’s National Alumni Board and served the University as an adjunct professor in the School of Law from 1969 to 1995, including two years as the John R. Quine Adjunct Professor of Law.
Not surprisingly, Harold was the recipient of numerous accolades recognizing his outstanding career, personal integrity, commitment to education, and philanthropy. In 1999, he was named to the Ohio State Bar Foundation Fellows Class, and in 2004 he was presented with the Sir Thomas More Award by the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and the Akron Bar Association.
In addition, a grateful University of Akron honored the judge with an Outstanding Alumni Award from the School of Law in 1983, an Honorary Doctorate in 2008, and a Dean’s Award from the College of Nursing (now the School of Nursing in the College of Health Professions) in 2010. He also was a member of the UA’s Pixley Society, which recognizes employees who reach a significant level of giving to the University.
If you are interested in contributing to or establishing a scholarship at The University of Akron, please contact the Department of Development at 330.972.7238 or development@uakron.edu.