The Chaudhry family has gifted $4 million to the University of Cincinnati to support first-generation college students in need of financial support to pursue higher education.
On Monday, UC announced the creation of the Chaudhry Family Scholarship Fund in honor of donors and alums, Jagtar “Jay” Chaudhry and P. Jyoti Chaudhry. The scholarship fund will fill the financial gaps of every Pell-eligible student living in the Gen-1 1MPACT House after the awarding of federal Pell and other grants.
The money will support roughly 150 students beginning in the fall of 2025.
“I’m truly grateful that Jay and Jyoti are dedicated partners in our ongoing commitment to first-generation students,” said UC President Neville G. Pinto. “Their generosity will forever change the lives of these students, their families and their communities.”
Promoting next generation of UC leaders
UC’s Gen-1 Program, set up in 2008, is the nation’s first living-learning community to focus on first-generation college students. As the first in their families to attend college, Gen-1 students face unique challenges when transitioning to college.
The Gen-1 Program and 1MPACT House provide them with a structured environment in which to live, learn and work towards their degrees. This includes academic, personal and social programming; mentoring and tutoring; in-house academic advising; workshops on financial aid and studying abroad; cooking classes; cultural activities and service projects.
Fall 2025 marks the program’s 18th year. To date, UC’s Gen-1 first to second-year retention rate is 98% compared to the national rate of 68% for first-generation college students, as reported by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in Higher Education. Among UC Gen-1 students, 78% complete their degrees compared to 29% nationally.
UC’s Gen-1 students have succeeded in various careers, including the corporate world and the nonprofit sector. Several have pursued careers at UC and are paying it forward as financial aid advisors, academic advisors and success coaches.
“You name it, they are out there doing it and doing it well,” said Suzette Combs, director of the Gen-1 Program and 1MPACT House.
A lifetime commitment to education
Combs credited the Chaudhrys’ gift with removing financial stresses and allowing the Gen-1 students to focus on their academic work and take part in extracurricular opportunities such as study abroad programs, internships and campus leadership roles.
“This gift lets them know that there are people out there who believe in them and think they belong here,” Combs said. “There’s very little that can take the place of that and it is empowering for our students.”
For Jay and Jyoti, the gift reflects their respective commitment to education. The married couple, who co-founded cloud security company Zscaler, credited their time at UC with helping them as entrepreneurs.
Jay, a first-generation student from India, holds two Masters’ degrees from the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science and earned his MBA from the UC Carl H. Lindner College of Business, all in the 1980s. Jyoti also has an MBA from the Lindner College of Business in 1987.
In addition to Zscaler, the Chaudhrys founded a series of successful companies, including AirDefense, CipherTrust, CoreHarbor and SecureIT.
The Chaudhrys described the scholarship fund as a “gesture of our gratitude and appreciation to our alma mater” that will help other students in need to “complete their college education and change their and their families’ lives.”
“We are very grateful for the excellent education we got at UC which played a significant role in our success,” they continued. “In fact, both of us got tuition scholarships for our graduate studies without which we couldn’t afford to get our masters’ degrees.”
Gen-1 University of Cincinnati
Discover more from Movers & Makers
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.