CIM Receives $1 Million from Board of Trustees Chair Richard Hipple and Wife Jean for First Ever Endowed Dean's Scholarship

CIM has received a $1 million donation from Board of Trustees Chairman Richard J. Hipple and his wife, Jean, to establish CIM’s first Dean’s Scholarship, which will provide full tuition to an outstanding student.

In appreciation of their gift, the Hipples will be honored March 29 at this semester’s final CIM Orchestra Concert in Kulas Hall featuring Andrew Grams as guest conductor.

The Hipples’ legacy gift contributes to an unprecedented season of endowment fundraising at CIM, galvanized by the Institute’s goal to double its endowment for scholarship funding.

Dick Hipple has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2010 and took the reins as chairman in 2015.

“I am extraordinarily thankful to Jean and Dick for their incredible generosity to CIM over many years,” said Paul W. Hogle, CIM's president and CEO. “Dick’s commitment and service as a trustee knows no bounds as he has worked tirelessly to advance CIM’s vision to be the future of classical music. We rolled up our sleeves together when I came to CIM and I quickly realized that Dick is equally passionate about classical music, about creating more opportunities for young people and about giving back to his community. Generations from now, our community will continue to learn about Jean and Dick’s enduring contributions to CIM and their already impressive legacy of service, while widening the scope of our reputation as a powerhouse of classical music training. Even more importantly, I’m very proud to call both of them my dear friends.”

The increased support helps move forward CIM’s strategic plan. Known as Blueprint:100, the plan acknowledges the need to significantly lower the net cost of education for all CIM students, as well as to have more scholarship dollars available to attract the next generation of the world’s most talented classical music students.

On the heels of CIM’s historic decision in 2017 to reduce tuition for new students by 15 percent and hold tuition flat for returning students, this donation continues CIM on its present course to create the equivalent of 50 full-tuition scholarships over the next decade.

“Jean and Dick Hipple recognize that giving talented students access to a world-class education has lifelong implications,” said Hogle. “With this gift, they are empowering future generations of CIM students to embark on their careers as soloists, chamber musicians and ensemble members, composers of meaningful, award-winning new repertoire and highly sought after teaching artists, administrators and thought leaders. Moreover, enabling more top applicants to attend CIM helps to increase the diversity of our student body – a core value of our strategic plan – giving students access to a broader range of backgrounds and musical perspectives and enhancing the quality of student discussion and musicianship.

“The Hipples’ legacy and those of all of CIM’s generous supporters will provide for the future of classical music for generations to come,” Hogle concluded.

Dick Hipple is the retired chairman, president and CEO of Materion Corporation, an international company that specializes in manufacturing high performance engineered materials headquartered in Mayfield Heights. Prior to Materion, he spent 26 years at LTV Steel, including a number of years as president. He also serves on the boards of KeyCorp, Barnes Group and Luxfer Holdings. Both Jean and Dick Hipple are devoted supporters of classical music and the city of Cleveland.