A new college scholarship for women entering the metalcasting industry will honor an exceptional and inspiring foundry leader.
The Jean Bye AFS Women in Metalcasting Scholarship was established through a generous donation from Dotson Iron Castings (Mankato, Minnesota). Bye served as the company's CEO from 2010 to 2020 and as the Executive Chair of the board until her retirement in August 2021, having worked at the AFS Corporate Member foundry for 47 years.
Bye, a Past President of AFS, is a recipient of the Women in Manufacturing STEP Ahead Award and was one of the founders of the AFS Women in Metalcasting group. She is also the first recipient of the AFS Women in Metalcasting Award for Excellence.
“Jean Bye is a deeply respected leader and mentor in our industry, and the new scholarship recognizes her support of women pursuing careers in the exciting field of metalcasting,” said Doug Kurkul, CEO of AFS.
The Jean Bye AFS Women in Metalcasting Scholarship is available to women attending four-year universities who are interested and involved in metalcasting. Scholarship applications are available here and are due by March 15, 2022.
The first scholarship will be awarded during the Women in Metalcasting Breakfast at CastExpo 2022, April 23-26 in Columbus, Ohio, where Bye also will present the annual Hoyt Memorial Lecture.
In addition to Dotson’s donation, funds for the scholarship endowment will be raised by the Foundry Educational Foundation in partnership with AFS Women in Metalcasting and others in the metalcasting industry. Gifts of any size can be made in support of this important endowment by clicking here.