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- Council of Higher Education
COUNCIL OF HIGHER EDUCATION CELEBRATES
100 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CZECH/SLOVAK-AMERICAN COMMUNITY
- The
Council of Higher Education celebrated its 100th
Anniversary in 2002 and is now in its second century
of serving students of Czech and Slovak ancestry. In
2001, the Council returned to its roots in Cedar
Rapids where its board of trustees participated in a
retreat at the National Czech & Slovak Museum
& Library to consider how it can best continue to
serve the community during the next 100 years.
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- The Council grants scholarships to United States and
Canadian students of Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian
ancestry on the basis of need and academic
achievement or excellence. At the retreat, the
Council reiterated its basic goal to grant
scholarships to United States and Canadian students
of Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian ancestry on the basis
of need and academic achievement or excellence. The
Council also expanded its mission to increase
knowledge of Czech and Slovak heritage and culture
and to raise public awareness of contributions made
by individuals of Czech and Slovak descent in North
American.
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- Cedar Rapids businessman W.F. Severa founded the
Council in 1902. The previous year, Severa had
attended a high school graduation in Cedar Rapids and
was very impressed by the intelligence and presence
of the valedictorian, who was also a Czech-American.
Severa was dismayed when he learned that the young
man was to become a manual laborer because he could
not afford to attend college. Severa agreed to
finance his education. The young man refused what he
considered to be charity, but accepted an
interest-free loan. The valedictorian, Efrem Hrbek,
became the first recipient of a Council award and
eventually received his Ph.D. from the University of
Iowa and became a professor of Czech language and
literature at the University of Nebraska.
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- By the end of the 19th Century, Czechs and
Slovaks in the United States had learned the
advantages of mutual aid and cultural associations.
Most of the Czech and Slovak immigrants who came to
the United States, and to Cedar Rapids in particular,
in the late 19th Century were poor farmers
and laborers who hoped to better their economic
situation. Numerous organizations sprang up to
preserve the language and various aspects of the
culture and traditions of the old country and for the
betterment of life in the new country. The Council
was formed within this tradition. In 1906, the Cedar
Rapids Times (April 9, 1906) commented that "if
there is any Bohemian institution or organization
more worthy or doing a nobler work than the Council
of Higher Education — Matice Vyhssiho Vzelani it
would be hard to find."
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- Severa himself had immigrated to the United States at
the invitation of his older sister in 1868. He worked
at odd jobs on farms and in factories and attended
night classes. He eventually chose pharmacology as a
lucrative field and opened a drug store. Later he
developed a patent medicine manufacturing company and
went into banking. Severa was a leader in many
philanthropic endeavors and after 1918, his
assistance extended to Czechoslovakia, where among
other projects he established an orphanage in Brno.
In 1927, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the founding the Council, the
President of Czechoslovakia, T.G. Masaryk, conferred
the Order of the White Lion – the highest
civilian decoration of the Republic – on Severa
"for helping to make it possible for
Czechoslovakia to gain and enjoy its
independence."
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- Within one year of its founding, the Council had 155
members and received $1,452.39 in donations and made
loans ranging from $25 to $200. The first President
of the Board of Trustees, Professor Bohumil Simek of
the University of Iowa, finding "how little our
people understand the [financial] advantages of
higher education," undertook a series of a
nationwide series of lectures and wrote articles
promulgating the value of education to the
Czech-American community. The community responded
eagerly to his appeals for contributions and support.
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- The Council made interest-free loans available to
students of Czech-Slovak ancestry. In 1968,
businessman James Hovorka and his wife Helen of
Youngstown, Ohio, bequeathed the bulk of their estate
to the Council of Higher Education for scholarships.
In 1995, the Council suspended its loan program in
favor of a new category of Council scholarships. In
2001, the Council awarded over sixty scholarships in
amounts ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 to over 60
students studying at over 45 diverse institutions of
higher learning in over 23 states. A special
Founder’s Scholarship has been instituted to
honor outstanding Council Supporters and former aid
recipients. In 2001, a scholarship was awarded to
Joshua Dishon, a graduate student in medicine at
Columbia University, and Alenka Zeman, a graduate
student in medicine at Stanford University, in honor
of Emily Seclef and Clara Hoetzel of California,
sisters who left a substantial bequest to the
Council.
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- In its early years, the Council was instrumental in
establishing the teaching of the Czech/Slovak
languages at several universities (Nebraska in 1907,
Iowa in 1912, Texas in 1915, and later, in the
1920’s at Columbia, Creighton, and St.
Procopius), as well as several high schools, notably
Harrison and Morton, in the Chicago area. It
contributed toward the establishment of what was to
be a Chair of Czech and Slovak Studies at the
University of Chicago in 1961. Also, the Council
promoted a broader educational program of
enlightening Americans of Czech and Slovak descent
through lectures, publications, and mobile libraries.
It sponsored "Komensky Clubs" at colleges
and universities beginning with 40 students at the
University of Nebraska in 1904. At its retreat in
2001, the Council renewed its commitment to encourage
teaching and research in Czech/Slovak
culture and language.
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- In 1924, the Council of Higher
Education moved to Illinois and has had its
headquarters in the Chicago Metropolitan area since
then. The board of trustees consists of fifteen
educators and businesspersons who meet regularly,
manage the Council’s endowment, and determine
the criteria for the selection of the recipients for
the Council’s awards. Thousands of successful
persons in all walks of life have benefited from the
scholarships and loans made available by the Council.
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- In 1924, the Council of Higher
Education moved to Illinois and has had its
headquarters in the Chicago metropolitan area since
then. The board of trustees consists of fifteen
educators and businesspersons who meet quarterly,
manage the Council’s endowment, and select the
recipients for the Council’s awards. Thousands
of successful persons in all walks of life have
benefited from the scholarships and loans made
available by the Council.
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- For more information about the
Council’s scholarships and how to contribute to
the Council, go to our website at www.cheonline.org. Or contact us at the address below:
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- Council of Higher Education
- 203 North Wabash, Suite 1504
- Chicago, IL 60601-2415
- Phone: 312.469.1626
- E-mail: mailbox@cheonline.org
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- Submitted by Michael Seng, Board Member, Council of
Higher Education, June 4, 2002; revised April 4,
2005.
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Return to Profiles Index Page
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- The National Czech & Slovak Museum
& Library
- 30 - 16th Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids,
Iowa 52404-5904
- Phone: 319-362-8500 · Fax:
319-363-2209
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- This page was updated May 05, 2005
