SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The University of Rhode Island has received a $6-million estate gift, its biggest individual donation, from Rhode Island native and alumna Helen Izzi Schilling and her husband, Frank Schilling.
Their gift will pay for the Frank and Helen Izzi Schilling Scholarship Endowment, which will provide four-year scholarships to students with strong academic performance. The couple created a similar endowment at Frank Schilling’s alma mater, John Carroll University.
The recipients, called Schilling Scholars, will be asked to pay back the scholarships — to the best of their abilities — over their lifetimes. The Schillings, who divide their time between Florida and Wisconsin, want to help URI attract and retain the best and brightest students.
David M. Dooley, president of URI, praised the couple, saying, “This gift, which truly is the single largest gift pledged by an individual in URI’s history, will truly be transformational in its impact. Our ability to attract and retain the highest caliber student is a key component of our vision for URI’s future, and this extraordinary donation will have a direct and significant bearing on our success.”
The gift helped URI raise more than $128 million for its “Making a Difference” campaign.
“We have been very fortunate,” Helen Schilling said. “With success, there is an obligation to give back. I was very pleased with the education I received at URI. My husband and I want to improve the academic level of the university. The careful design of our gift will provide increasing scholarships forever.”
“The best way we can make an impact with our ‘payback’ is through education,” Frank Schilling said. “We want our contribution to help teach students how to think, achieve more and learn to pay back for their success.”
The university was Helen Izzi’s launching pad. The oldest of four sisters, she blazed an educational path for her sisters to follow. She chose URI in 1950 because it was affordable, although it meant she had to live at home in Warwick, earn money and commute by getting rides for the first two years.
While at URI, Helen Schilling studied nutrition, graduating with honors. She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Kappa Omicron Nu, both national honor societies. She was also a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. Helen Schilling earned a master’s of science and completed a dietetic internship certificate program from Ohio State University.
During her final semester at Ohio State, she met her future husband, Frank, who had just entered the university’s MBA program after returning from service in Korea. Frank and Helen Schilling were married in Warwick.
Frank Schilling retired as a vice president for General Electric. He was also the founding president of a successful nuclear cardiology company that made and sold heart-scanning equipment.
The Schillings’ two children are leaders in their fields. Their son has pioneered advances in the treatment of cancer and their daughter is a recognized expert in rehabilitation medicine in Houston.
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