Ron Perez Legacy Scholarship

The Ron Perez Legacy Scholarship honors the legacy of former Dean Ron Perez by providing scholarship support to underserved students in the Zilber College of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This scholarship is designed specifically for students who face significant barriers to achieving higher education, including first-generation students, those with high financial need, and students who have overcome personal adversity or family hardship. The award supports undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in various public health programs including BSPH, MPH, and PhD programs across Biostatics, Community-Based Health Promotion, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Nutrition, and Public Health Policy specializations. Eligible students must be enrolled full-time (12+ credits for undergraduates, 8+ credits for graduates) and maintain good academic standing at the Zilber College of Public Health. Priority is given to students who are first-generation college students, have high financial need, or have overcome significant barriers such as experience in foster care, living in a single-parent household, having an incarcerated parent, serving as a family caregiver, or demonstrating extensive community service or successful careers in other fields before entering public health education. The scholarship supports students at multiple degree levels within public health, recognizing that diverse life experiences and backgrounds strengthen the public health profession. Recipients are selected based on their demonstrated resilience, commitment to public health, and ability to articulate how their life experiences will shape their future work as public health professionals. To be considered, students must complete the entire General Application through the UW-Milwaukee Panther Scholarship Portal.