The Kimmel Scholarship for Students in Construction

Since Fall 2004 , Kimmel & Associates has awarded the Scholarship for Students in Construction to 138 students at 64 colleges/universities in 31 states who are pursuing an education related to the construction industry and are also, in most cases, currently working for construction companies even as they take their courses. The $1,000 prize lends assistance to young people we believe represent the hard work and optimism that will keep construction healthy and drive the industry forward in the future.

The Joe W. Kimmel Scholarship for First Generation Students of Promise

Making a Difference
Joe Kimmel and his wife, Cynthia, have a special place in their hearts for the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Six of their seven children attended the university, receiving a high-quality, personalized liberal arts education. Like hundreds of other students who have attended UNC-Asheville, the Kimmel children benefited from the instruction and mentoring of gifted faculty members committed to helping all students reach their full potential, regardless of resources or limitations. Today, three of Joe and Cynthia’s children work in the family business.

Dr. Alex Comfort, the Associate Vice-Chancellor for Development at UNC-Asheville, says that his office’s relationship with Kimmel & Associates is “one of the most productive and meaningful relationships we have with any corporation.” Joe Kimmel’s desire was to lend assistance to a first-generation student who “didn’t necessarily have the flashiest grade point average coming in but whose work and effort showed great promise,” and that vision has been fulfilled. With a scholarship funded by Joe Kimmel and enhanced by contributions from the 100+ employees at Kimmel & Associates, UNC-A is able to offer a complete, 4-year college scholarship to one or two students a year, an endowment which Dr. Comfort says “continues to grow and doesn’t show any signs of ending.”

Leaving a Legacy
As a creative and meaningful Christmas gift in 1999, the employees of Kimmel & Associates banded together to honor Joe Kimmel’s unique style of empowering leadership as well as the Kimmels’ vision to provide a solid educational foundation for their children, by establishing a scholarship fund at UNC-Asheville. The staff specifically designated that the new Joe W. Kimmel Scholarship Fund benefit students who are the first in their immediate families to attend a four-year institution and who show promise of succeeding in college. The scholarship fund is particularly appropriate for UNC-Asheville, where nearly 40 percent of students are “first generation” college students and more than half receive financial assistance.

The first recipient of the Joe W. Kimmel Scholarship received her scholarship beginning in 1999, and it carried her financial burden until she graduated with honors. After leaving UNC-Asheville, she began a career with a non-profit organization helping the homeless in the Asheville area.

Funding a Unique Scholarship
The staff of Kimmel & Associates is continuing to honor Joe by augmenting the scholarship each year and has raised its contributions to the Scholarship fund annually. Kimmel & Associates welcomes you to join this worthwhile effort to enable deserving first generation students to pursue their dreams of a quality college education. Details of how you can make your own gift to the Joe W. Kimmel Scholarship are below:

Please make checks payable to the UNC-Asheville Foundation, Inc., and write "Joe W. Kimmel Scholarship Fund" on the memo line.

Mail to:

Office of Development
309 Owen Hall, CPO#1890
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804-8507
828.251.6080