Schmitt Foundation Scholarship in Business

The Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Foundation, Inc., established the Schmitt Foundation Scholarship in Business at SUNY Brockport to assist an outstanding student in Brockport’s School of Business and Management.

Mr. Schmitt, a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1925. He worked as a sausage-maker and later was a tool-maker at Bausch & Lomb. During the Depression, a friend in real estate told him about an idea for cities to create space for cars while their owners worked, shopped, or visited. Mr. Schmitt recognized the possibilities and bought his first parking lot in downtown Rochester shortly after.

When he married the former Caroline Stock, she ran the parking lots, handling both the business details and car parking, while he worked at other jobs.

After World War II with the increased interest in cars and driving, he devoted himself full-time to his parking lots, known at the United Schmitt Corporation. The firm expanded into real estate development and ultimately merged with Allright Auto Park of Houston.

Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt established their foundation to manage gifts to their special interests, including education.

Qualified applicants for the Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Scholarship in Business must be accepted into one of the degree-granting programs of the School of Business and Management at Brockport following completion of their associate’s degree at an accredited college. Applicants must be accepted as a third-year student at Brockport and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in their associate’s degree courses.