Empowering Our Youth for the Future
William E. Merritt Financial Aid for The Fine Arts and Music.
About William E. Merritt Jr.
William E. (Bill) Merritt Jr., November 4, 1939 — April 4, 1998, was a corporate executive and entrepreneur who created vehicles to transmit positive influences to young people throughout Chicago and the nation. A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Bill was strongly committed to education and personal growth and development. In the 1960s, he was a member of the Allentown Jaycees and chairman of its awards committee.
He earned a degree in economics from Moravian College and an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at Moravian, he was founder and editor of Grassroots, a newspaper geared to minorities. He went on to have a successful career in management with some of the nation’s leading companies, including Seven-Up, Borden Foods, 3M and Marriott Hotels.
Turning to banking, he was a Vice President and Director of Marketing with the nation’s premier community development institution, South Shore Bank of Chicago. He went on to found his own firm, Merritt & Associates, a business providing African-American art for commercial government buildings in Chicago.
He and his wife, Rev. Dora White-Merritt spoke to public and parochial school children in Chicago and its suburbs, where he was known as "Mr. Bill". He also counseled parents of young children on how to be better parents, conducted educational workshops for development and did consulting for business, education and the arts. Bill was also the force behind the founding of a male mentoring program at Jesse Owens Academy on the South Side. In 1998, this scholarship fund was established in his memory.
Our Goals
Fine Art
Music
Preforming Arts
Merritt Board Members
MICHAEL I.J. BENNETT, Ph.D.
At De Paul University, Dr. Bennett served as executive director of the Egan Urban Center(1997-2008) and is currently, Associate Professor in De Paul’s Department of Sociology where he teaches courses in urban planning, community development, economic and social policy, and issues of race and ethnicity. He has degrees from Kent State University (B.A. 1968), and The University of Chicago (A.M. 1972 and Ph.D. 1988). Dr. Bennett has taught at the University of Illinois-Chicago, The University of Chicago’s School ofSocial Service Administration, Columbia College (Chicago), Kent State University and The University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.Previously, he held positions with the nation’s first community development bank, Shore Bank Corporation in Chicago and Arkansas: president of The Neighborhood Institute, a non-profit community development corporation affiliated with Shore Bank; VP of South Shore Bank, and VP of the holding company, ShoreBank Corp. And for 18 years, Dr. Bennett served on the board of Shared Interest, a fund that along with its Johannesburg affiliate, the Thembani International Guaranty Fund, provides financing and technical assistance to small indigenous enterprises in South Africa. For thepast 20 years, he has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of The William E. Merritt Scholarship Fund. Other board memberships include: The African American Leadership and Policy Institute, the Asset Based Community Development Institute, the Endeleo Institute, The Imani Village LLC(Trinity United Church of Christ affiliates), The Greater Chatham Initiative, and the Fathers, Families and Healthy Communities initiative.
Arnold Harris, MBA, is Senior Consultant for The Harris Consulting Group. Mr. Harris has been a financial consultant for thirty-five years, providing financial consulting to for-profit and nonprofit entities and the business community. Mr. Harris has been involved with various art organizations in the community, primarily as a board member, for thirty years. He has been affiliated with The William Merritt Scholarship Fund, for twenty years and treasurer for fifteen years. Mr. Harris says, "I enjoy working in the arts community, particular with The Merritt Fund, which provides financial assistance to up-and-comimg artist to enhance and develop their skills".
John Zeigler Jr. is Director of the Egan Office of Urban
Education and Community Partnerships (UECP) and adjunct faculty at DePaul University.
He received his bachelor of science at Roosevelt University and a Masters in Social Work from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at University of
Illinois in Chicago.
John is a faculty member of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute.
John has worked internationally and believes in the power of building authentic community partnerships that provides a pathway for effectivepractices, promising ideas, addressing challenges and creating impact.
Mohamed Sherriff, PH D was born in Sierra Leone and traveled to the United States at the age of twenty-one to pursue his education.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia College in Chicago, he continued his education and earned a Master’s degree from Roosevelt University and a Doctorate degree in chemistry from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
After returning to Chicago, he worked as a chemist for the Black-owned Johnson Products company.
He has taught classes at Malcolm X College,
The Illinois Institute of Technology and De Paul University.
In addition to his teaching career, Dr. Sherriff is an accomplished writer and has authored two novels, Bayou Days and Xeno and The Other Suppliants at the Gates of the City.
Currently, he is the owner of Esters Nature Care, Inc. where he manufactures and distributes skin care products.
Cassandra Reid attended DePaul & Roosevelt Universities and is a retired Paralegal from the law firm of Jenner & Block, LLP, where she worked for over twenty-five years.
Cassandra currently serves as Chair of the Trustee Board of St. Matthew United Methodist Church, located on the near north side and is co-chair of the of the Church Redevelopment Committee.
Cassandra previously worked as a volunteer for the Chicago Mental Health Association, the DuSable Museum of African American History and Lower North Center which was a branch of Chicago Youth Center.
Phil Cotton
Lindsey Salter
Ashley Stone