The Gayle W. McElrath scholarship honors the memory of MNASQ member Gayle McElrath who was a living testimony to the principles and practices of the quality profession. His life and accomplishments testify to his commitment. These include Professor and founder of the Industrial Engineering Department, University of Minnesota (1953); founding member of Minnesota Section, ASQ (circa 1947), subsequently Section Chair (1951-1952), awarded Fellow (1953) and E.L. Grant Medalist (1963). He also was a Certified Quality Engineer and Professional Engineer. His professional life actively included applied learning to reinforce continued practices. Also, supplemented with numerous seminars and technical papers and texts testify to the confidence others had in Gayle's capability and dedication. His profession of over forty years was a testimony to excellence and commitment.

ASQ Minnesota Section 1203 (MNASQ) offers scholarships yearly to students attending post-secondary education to members or family members of members in good standing in the section. There are four awards that will be award annually. There are two $1000.00 and two $500.00 scholarships being awarded. One of the $1000.00 and one of the $500.00 scholarships may be renewed for up to three years if the applicant continues to meet the entry requirements.

Scholarship selection criteria includes:

• Must be enrolled in a program leading to an Associate, Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Engineering, Technology, Physical or Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics, Business-Administration., Health Sciences, or Education at a recognized (ABET or equiv. accredited) college or university.
• Must have a GPA of 3.0 or greater on a scale of 1-4.
• Must be a full-time student during the time the award is active.
• Essay must be submitted articulating why the applicant should be considered for the scholarship and how quality relates to their chosen profession or major. The essay should be a maximum of two (2) typed or printed pages.
• Applicants under 18 years old at time of application submission must submit a Minor Consent Form.
• A recipient cannot be awarded a non-renewable award more than one time, but may apply for other scholarships that are available.
• Decisions of the MNASQ Scholarship Committee are final.

Application packages may be submitted electronically except for sealed official copy of the current transcript.  The application package consists of the following documents:

• Completed scholarship application form;
• Essay articulating why the applicant should be considered for the scholarship and how quality relates to their chosen profession or major. (maximum of 2 typed or printed pages.)
• Letter of recommendation from 1 faculty member;
• Current photo;
• Sealed official copy of the applicant’s current transcript.

 
Please submit questions to scholarship@mnasq.org.
Complete applications must be received at the addresses below no later than July 15th.  Selected recipients will be contacted in August.

Electronic submissions:
Email applications to: scholarship@mnasq.org. Submissions will be confirmed.

Postal mail submissions:
MNASQ
PO Box 957
Anoka, MN 55303
Attention: Scholarship Committee