Endowment Eases Financial Struggle of Students
Gift Supports Physics Majors
Holding down a job while completing her undergraduate degree was a struggle, but it taught Rosemary Rodd (’72) perseverance.
“Education became more valuable to me after I had to drop out of Rice University for financial reasons. Then, I had to struggle to support myself and earn enough money to attend night school at the University of Houston,” said Rodd, who completed a degree in psychology.
While going to UH, she worked a variety of secretarial positions in companies ranging from very small to Fortune 500. “The more working experience I had, the more meaningful my college classes became,” Rodd said. “In addition to my psychology classes, I found the math, accounting and physics classes to be particularly helpful in my career.”
Rodd’s experiences led her to pursue sales and management positions and eventually to run two companies. Early in her career, she worked for Xerox for 13 years, ending up as the Virginia District Manager. After marrying Matthew Spitzer, she began learning about his businesses in California and ultimately ran the businesses—audio/music stores and a helicopter leasing company.
When her husband began to lose his sight, Rodd read his physics books aloud to him, increasing her own interest in physics.
“My late husband and late father were both very interested in the sciences, so supporting NSM is a natural,” Rodd said. “In my view, understanding physics leads to understanding the universe, and therefore, is the most important field of study.”
Rodd established the Frank Robert Rodd Family Endowment, named after her father, to support UH physics students. To date, 14 students have received scholarships from the endowment.
“I want to provide a little boost to others who may be struggling with working and going to school the way I did,” she said. “If my scholarships can make a difference and demonstrate to them that someone believes in them, I will feel very happy.”
Kathy Major, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
