Robert and Mary Jorstad Scholarship

Established by Dr. Robert and Mary Jorstad to encourage, inspire and help future students on their journeys to rewarding lives and science-based careers. Robert (Bob) and Mary Jorstad’s educations were paramount to their successes and those of their family. The Jorstad’s are proud supporters of EIU and maintain strong ties. Bob earned his BS and MS degrees in science education from Bemidji State University. In 1982 he earned his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Idaho and had a 25 -year career in the Geology/Geography Department at EIU teaching Sedimentation, Stratigraphy, and Physical Geology/Earth Science. Over half the summers he spent teaching EIU’s Geology Field Camp in the Black Hills and Wyoming. Mary graduated from the University of Minnesota in Dental Hygiene and earned a BA from Bemidji State University in Applied Psychology. When Mary earned the MA in Gerontology from EIU, she obtained a full-time director and teaching position in the Lake Land College (LLC) Dental Hygiene program from 1990 to 2010. Their son Rob Jorstad, graduated from EIU with degrees in Physics and Math. His experience in class and tutoring fellow students, high school students, and LLC students helped him develop a passion for his teaching career in Physics at Alan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California.