John Deere Scholars program offers pipeline to UI education for Davenport students • Iowa Capital Dispatch (2024)

• Education

The John Deere Foundation has committed $6.6 million over six years to a collaboration with the University of Iowa and Davenport Community School District to provide additional education, support services and funds to high school seniors.

“I think this is an excellent example of the public sector and the private sector coming together to solve real world problems, and address things like poverty, address things like access to education and then, obviously, address workforce needs,” said Liz Tovar, UI executive officer and associate vice president of the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity.

Starting this fall, seniors at Davenport Central, North, West, and Mid City high schools will have access to extracurricular college prep courses and other activities, as well as help with processes to access financial aid and enroll in college through the John Deere Scholars program. Tovar said the program will also expose the students to higher education through campus visits and the like.

In spring 2025, those overseeing the program will select 20 seniors to receive scholarships that will fund 90% of their cost to attend the UI for four years. Sixty seniors in total will receive these scholarships over the next three years, Tovar said.

Some parts of the program are still in progress, Tovar said, including the hiring of a local director to work with the Davenport school counselors in teaching the courses and overseeing other aspects of the program. All of these efforts will set students up for success, especially those with financial or other needs, and will hopefully bring Davenport’s best and brightest to the UI.

“This partnership will provide a tremendous opportunity for our students,” said TJ Schneckloth, superintendent of the Davenport Community School District, in a news release. “Our district is committed to preparing our students for their post-secondary education. The John Deere Scholars Program offers a generation changing opportunity for our students to receive the college education they might never have thought was possible.”

When choosing students for the scholarships, Tovar said they’ll have needed to engage with the program throughout the year, file the FAFSA federal student aid application and demonstrate a financial need. They’re taking a more holistic approach overall, however, Tovar said, wanting to know about these students’ future goals and where they want to end up, whether that’s in Iowa or somewhere else.

Tovar said she sees the John Deere Scholars program as an opportunity to build future leaders, young people who can succeed in a global society and diverse workforce. Skills that John Deere looks for in employees could be incorporated into the precollege coursework, she said, and work with the company’s foundation may be worked into scholar program requirements during the student’s time at the UI, which will also include fieldwork and networking opportunities in their field of study.

“We believe education is the foundation for success,” said Mara Downing, president of the John Deere Foundation and vice president of global brand and communications at John Deere, in the release. “By investing in our community, John Deere is also investing in opportunities for the leaders of tomorrow. We are excited to begin the John Deere Scholars Program and watch these future leaders achieve their dreams.”

The John Deere Foundation has a longstanding relationship with the UI, Tovar said, having lent support to past initiatives on campus. When the foundation reached out to the UI Center for Advancement, looking at ways to give back to students in the company’s community, the university put together a proposal for the scholars program. The Davenport Community School District was then brought in to work with its counselors and pinpoint where the greatest needs are.

An average of 90 students come from Davenport to the UI every year, Tovar said, some of whose families have great financial need. Knowing that the John Deere Scholars program will help more future students seek a higher education, Tovar said the goal is to continue it and expand to other schools and areas of the state, if they can get financial backing.

“We know that we’re going to be successful with this program, and we know that there’s a need, not just in Davenport but across our state,” Tovar said. “So our hope and goal is to find as many individuals as possible who can financially support it and back this type of a program — hopefully we can duplicate it.”