The Rainy Lake Property Owners Association
Annual Jeffrey Kantor Scholarship
“Knowledge is no good if you just sit on it” – Jeff Kantor
The Rainy Lake Property Owners Association has established an annual scholarship in the amount of $1000 in memory of Jeffrey Kantor. The Kantor annual scholarship applies to graduating senior students attending high school in International Falls MN, or Fort Frances High School, Ontario, Canada, or a senior student attending an accredited and registered homeschool/non-public school within the boundaries of the school districts aforementioned. and who plan to attend a college or university and major in a STEM (science, technology, engineer, or math) field. All students meeting this criterion are welcomed to apply.
CONDITIONS OF GIFT
The Jeffrey Kantor Scholarship Fund provides scholarships for qualified students selected by the Kantor Scholarship Committee through a lottery system. The annual scholarship will be funded through the RLPOA’s membership and fundraising efforts. The scholarship applications will be made available in the fall of 2024 and will be awarded in the spring of 2025. Note: The Kantor Scholarship Committee reserves the right to not award the scholarship in any given year.
Application and Selection:
- Students who meet the scholarship criteria outlined below must complete the scholarship application form and have their materials postmarked by February 15, 2025.
- The Scholarship Committee will review all applications received by the deadline to determine that applicants have met the criteria. Those applications meeting criteria will be placed into a drawing.
- The successful applicant(s) will be notified by April 15 2025. The RLPOA will recognize the awardees at its annual summer meeting.
SCHOLARSHIP CRITERIA
Applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered:
- Be a senior student attending Falls High School, Fort Frances High School, or a senior student attending an accredited and registered homeschool/non-public school within the boundaries of the school districts mentioned above.
- Will be attending a post-secondary institution and major in a STEM engineering field of study following graduation from high school
- Be in good academic standing with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Submit a one-page personal essay describing the applicant’s interest in the scholarship and the applicant’s commitment to the STEM field
- Submit one letter of recommendation from a teacher
ABOUT JEFFREY KANTOR
Jeffrey Kantor was born and raised in International Falls to Carl and Lorraine Kantor along with his siblings. Jeffrey spent his boyhood years growing up near Rainy Lake and Voyageurs National Park, environs that instilled in him a love of the natural world and an intellectual curiosity that lasted throughout his life. As an adult, he spent summers there with his family and volunteered his time and his knack for explaining complex concepts to help residents better understand water flow within the region.
Generous and humble by nature and an enthusiastic presence in the classroom, Jeff was a strong leader and devoted teacher and had a deep love for learning. His natural gifts made him a rising star in his chosen discipline, chemical engineering, even as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota and at Princeton, from which he joined the Notre Dame faculty after completing his doctorate in 1981. Jeff’s pioneering administrative career began in 1995 as chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The following year he was appointed vice president and associate provost, a role in which he established the University’s web administration office and became Notre Dame’s first chief information officer. In 2001, he became dean of the Graduate School and vice president of research. He was an advocate for sharing discoveries in science and engineering among Indiana’s research universities and a leader in the effort to establish what became Innovation Park, the University’s entrepreneurial center on East Angela Boulevard. He later served on the board of a $50 million 21st Century Research and Technology Fund.
Jeff was handy, a board game player, an avid fisherman, a gifted photographer who captured sunsets, wildlife and the changing ecosystems of Rainy Lake. His photographs appeared in USA Today, and he contributed many images of landscapes and the night sky to the Voyageurs Conservancy.
Jeffrey Kantor passed away at the age of 69 at his home in Rainy Lake. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Diane Bradley-Kantor, two sons and a granddaughter. (Adapted from the University of Notre Dame Kantor Obituary).
Use the buttons below to download the pdf of the scholarship program, the application or make a donation to the scholarship