Robert Schneider

This fund was established by Dr. Robert Schneider. In order to provide encouragement and assistance to worthy and deserving students who are pursuing a degree in agriculture at Western Kentucky University. In addition, this action shows the Schneider family’s devotion to Western Kentucky University, as well as their belief in the importance of education.

Dr. Robert M. Schneider was born April 24, 1932 in Phillips County, Kansas. He graduated in 1954 from Kansas State with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education. He later completed a master’s degree in Agricultural Education at Kansas State in 1965. Dr. Schneider also received his doctoral degree in Vocational Education from Michigan State University, East Lansing, in 1969. As a student, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.

Even before completing his master’s degree, Robert Schneider was set on entering into the education field. He first taught vocational agriculture in McDonald and Ellis, Kansas for 11 years. Dr. Schneider and his wife, Virginia, then lived in Nigeria and worked with the KSU-AID team from 1965 to 1967 and 1970 to 1972. He was an associate professor and department head of the agricultural engineering section at Ahmadu Bello University. Dr. Schneider also served as a professor in the Western Kentucky University Agriculture Department for 19 years where he taught Agricultural Mechanization. During his time at WKU, Dr. Schneider worked to prepare Kentucky’s Composting Manual for Kentucky’s Department of Environmental Protection Division of Waste Management. He also wrote articles for The Agricultural Education Magazine.

Dr. Schneider has been a loyal and generous supporter of WKU. He is a member of the Society of 1906, Cherry Society, and Cupola Society. Robert and his wife, Virginia, have two children, Kenneth and Kathryn.