Personal Giving Stories
Cejka family scholarships honor patriarch
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| Joseph B. Cejka |
Joseph B. Cejka (MS ’40) would be pleased and grateful for the opportunity to support young people today as they pursue an education in engineering at the U-M. A first-generation American, he was profoundly thankful for the opportunities this country offered, and he delighted in helping others to attain a fine education and to learn the values of hard work, honor and integrity.
Cejka, the son of Czechoslovakian immigrants, grew up in Detroit and began his school career by being sent home from kindergarten because he spoke only Czech. As a teenager he had a 400-customer paper route and sold apples on the street during the Depression, early experiences that helped to shape both his work ethic and his joy for life. Each day was for him a gift to be cherished, enjoyed and wisely used, in particular to help others and to give back to society.
A strong advocate of public education, Cejka earned a bachelor’s degree at Wayne State University, followed by a master’s in mechanical engineering from the U-M. He taught engineering at Tulane and Rutgers universities before entering the business world. Later, as CEO of Ward Products Corp., a New York and New Jersey firm, he was well known for helping pay the college costs of his employees’ children and for mentoring and supporting staffers who wanted to launch their own businesses.
Cejka’s passions come through in a new College
of Engineering scholarship established to
memorialize him and his wife, Florence.
Funded with a $1 million gift, the Joseph B.
Cejka and Florence V. Cejka Endowed Scholarship
Fund provides need-based scholarships
for engineering students throughout their U-M
careers. The scholarships are designated for
students from Michigan’s Wayne County where
Joseph Cejka was raised.
The Cejka scholarships are a gift from the Joseph B. Cejka and Florence V. Cejka Foundation, at the request of his daughter, Barbara Littleton (BS ’68, MS ’69) and her husband David Littleton (MBA ’66) of Orchard Lake, Mich. The awards also reflect the wishes of the Cejkas’ other daughter, the late Mary Cejka Sytsma (BA ’65, MA ’66).
Along with the gift to endow the scholarship fund, the Foundation gave $50,000 to be used immediately for the first wave of Cejka Scholars, six of whom were named in fall 2004.
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