Background
In 2007, OAR introduced the Schwallie Family Scholarship to support the undergraduate education of qualified autistic students. Schwallie Family Scholarships are supported through generous gifts from the family of the late Ed Schwallie, one of OAR’s founders and its only Board member Emeritus.
We added the Lisa Higgins Hussman Scholarship in 2013 to further benefit students attending two-year degree programs, as well as any of the growing number of certificate and life skills/transition programs. Board member and Scholarship Committee chairwoman, Lisa Hussman, championed the initiative, which is supported annually through gifts from the Lisa Higgins Hussman Foundation.
In 2021, the Synchrony Scholarship for Autistic Students of Color was established through a partnership with Synchrony’s Disabilities Diversity Network as part of their national “Education as an Equalizer” initiative.