Ed Remus believes that knowledge is power and with that power comes a chance to seize opportunities.
He’s hoping a recent donation of $100,000 from him and his wife Cora Remus to the Mesabi Range Foundation will put that power within the grasp of students moving forward.
The money will be used to establish a scholarship fund to provide a $5,000 annual award to a second year engineering student intending and progressing towards a Bachelor’s Degree.
“A college education doesn’t make you smart. It is not a guarantee. It only makes you more knowledgeable and increases the odds for success and happiness in the future,” Remus told the Mesabi Tribune last week by email after the donation was announced. “There is an old saying, ‘Knowledge is Power.’ Knowledge permits a person to recognize opportunities, create various social contacts, and be in the right place at the right time when opportunity strikes.”
Scott Wirtanen, Mesabi Range Foundation Coordinator, told the Mesabi Tribune that he first received an email from Ed in late November asking how he could establish an endowed scholarship at the Mesabi Range Foundation.
“Through a series of communications during the last month we were able to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the intended use of their contribution and will award a $5,000 annual scholarship to a 2nd year Engineering student attending Mesabi Range,” Wirtanen said.
“I would like an engineering student to benefit from an engineering degree that would permit the student to explore possible career opportunities in the wider world and become a more productive member of society,” Ed Remus told the Mesabi Tribune.
According to a news release from the Mesabi Range Foundation, Ed Remus, a 1960 graduate of Virginia High School and a 1962 graduate from Virginia Junior College, earned his Chemical Engineering degree at the University of Minnesota.
While at the University of Minnesota he received the prestigious Alworth Scholarship and was named an Outstanding Senior Engineering Student.
In 1970, he received his Law Degree from DePaul University and thereafter practiced as a patent lawyer specializing in Patent Litigation. While practicing law, he was named as one of the World’s Leading Patent Law Experts by Euromoney and was listed as one of the top attorneys in Illinois by the Chicago magazine.
Ed retired in 2012 as a partner in McAndrews, Held and Malloy, a leading intellectual property law firm in Chicago.
Cora Remus was the Valedictorian of the Class of 1960 at Conrad High School in Montana. In 1963 she earned her Registered Nursing degree from Carroll College. Cora worked at the University of Minnesota Hospital where she was a nurse on “Station 42”, the Post-Surgical Care Unit for kidney and liver transplants.
The couple have four children and thirteen grandchildren and currently reside in Geneva, Ill., a western suburb of Chicago.
For Ed, the decision to donate to the Mesabi Foundation was spurred by two things:
“Twofold: Never forget where you came from,” he said by email. “(And) I was fortunate to have received scholarships while a student at both Virginia Junior college and the University of Minnesota. The endowed scholarship is payback time.”
In addition to the contribution to the Mesabi Range Foundation, Ed and Cora have also made substantial philanthropic scholarship contributions at the University of Minnesota (Engineering) and Carroll College (Nursing), according to the news release.
Wirtanen said the donations the foundation receive from donors help provide financial support for Mesabi Range students. The Foundation also assists the college campuses in various projects that improve and enhance the college and offers support to partners who meet the workforce and community needs.
He said the Foundation’s Mission is to assist the Mesabi Range Campuses in promoting “extraordinary education of the highest value and affordable opportunities for those in our communities.”
“The Foundation’s greatest accomplishment continues to be providing scholarships to our students. Each year the Foundation receives approximately $70,000 in scholarship contributions from local businesses, individuals and civic organizations,” Wirtanen said by email. “Additional scholarship revenue is generated from the substantial one-time donations that have been invested in the Foundation’s Endowment fund. All of these important contributions assist the Foundation in their Mission to provide students financial support to the students at Mesabi Range.”
During the 2024-25 academic year the Foundation granted more than $100,000 in scholarship assistance to help offset the cost of tuition and fees. Since the Foundation was established in 1970, more than 5,200 students have received over $3.0 million in scholarship support.
“The positive impact from our donor contributions have made to our campuses is immeasurable,” Wirtanen said.
The Ed and Cora Remus Engineering Scholarship will go through the same application process as the other 50 scholarships the Foundation offers. The scholarship portal will open on approximately Feb. 1, 2024, and close late April, 2025 or early May, 2025.
Each scholarship application will be reviewed and scored by three scholarship reviewers. The scholarship committee will meet in early May to award the scholarships. Officials try to make their scholarship selections by mid-May, and inform the local high schools about any scholarship awards for their students so those individuals can receive proper recognition at their Awards Night ceremony.
The Foundation periodically receives one-time contributions. The gift may come from an Alumni wanting to give back to the college which assisted them on their path to a successful career, or from the estate of a former community member or Alumni who, through planned giving, has chosen to assist current students attending their former college.
“The 2024 calendar year was unique, as we received significant donations from two former Virginia Junior College graduates. The Ed and Cora Remus gift will be used for student scholarships, while the second contribution from the Estate of Dr. Michael Sher will be used for improvements on the Mesabi Range Campuses,” Wirtanen said.
He added that the Foundation is currently working with a former Mesabi Range graduate who is exploring entrusting some of their estate to assist Iron Range STEM students attending Mesabi Range.
“This individual is very grateful to the teachers and staff at Mesabi Community College while they were a student at Mesabi Range, and would like to give back with a donation from their estate to help future Iron Range students with their education,” Wirtanen said.
The Mesabi Range Foundation’s website has information regarding the Foundation and the scholarships that they provide students, along with an opportunity to make direct donations to the Foundation on-line. The website can be found at https://mesabi-range.givenorth.org/.
By Jesse White from the Mesabi Tribune – Updated
