Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions
Pat Cantelme Scholars
Pat Cantelme Scholars
Learn more about your impact
The Cantelme Scholars are named for retired Phoenix Fire Captain Pat Cantelme, who is co-founder, president and chairman of the board of the CDH Charitable Foundation, an Arizona-based private foundation that focuses largely on scholarship funding for Arizona residents attending the state's public universities with a demonstrated passion for public service.
Cantelme, who became a fire captain at the age of 25, was president of the United Phoenix Firefighters, Local 494. He was significantly involved in restoring the historic buildings on West Van Buren Street that are now The Van Buren concert venue and State 48 Brewery.
The Cantelme Scholars program resides within the Public Service Academy, which is administered by the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. This year, the CDH Foundation provided generous tuition funding for 10 ASU students who graduated from Arizona high schools and provided stipends allowing students to take part in ASU Study Abroad programs.
Impact of donor support
- More learners can pursue higher education. Thanks to our donors, more than 7,000 ASU students have received upwards of $32 million in scholarships with more than $39 million raised.
- More students succeed. ASU ranks #1 among the state’s public universities for its 86% first-year retention rate thanks in part to donor-funded student success initiatives.
- Important initiatives continue. More than $320 million in new gifts and commitments support ongoing initiatives at ASU.
- The spirit of generosity abounds. In the past year, more than 100,000 individual, corporate and foundation donors stepped forward to help the ASU community.
Our family believes in giving back and sharing the blessings we have received financially and through our time."