Kenneth W. Clement, a pioneering African-American physician, returned the hand-up that he himself had received by establishing a college scholarship fund at the Cleveland Foundation in 1966, a year before he became the first African American appointed to serve on the foundation’s board.

Having graduated from Cleveland’s Central High School in 1938 as class valedictorian, Clement earned a full scholarship to Oberlin College. He attended medical school at Howard University on a W. K. Kellogg Scholarship. Setting up a private practice in Cleveland in 1951, he had to fight to gain staff privileges at area hospitals. The physician refused to give in to racial discrimination and ultimately gained admitting powers at four institutions.

Dr. Clement, who died in 1974, was a devoted volunteer leader of numerous nonprofit organizations in Cleveland. He also served on two presidentially appointed federal councils that helped to create and implement Medicare legislation. After being honored for his record of public service by the Cleveland chapter of the Urban League in 1966, he and his wife, Ruth, decided to partner with the Cleveland Foundation to award a college scholarship annually to a graduating Cleveland Municipal School District student who had performed laudable community service.

Since its establishment with the Clements’ initial gift of $10,000, the Inez and Harry Clement Award Fund (named in honor of the doctor’s parents) has provided scholarship awards to more than 50 Cleveland public school students, enabling them to study at colleges and universities in Ohio and beyond.