Mary Ellen Withrow Scholarship Fund

Marion’s “favorite daughter,” Mary Ellen Withrow, the 40th Treasurer of the United States, created a scholarship fund in 2016 for female students from any Marion County high school, with special consideration for those pursuing the fields of finance or political science. 

Mary Ellen Hinamon Withrow was the Treasurer of the United States from 1994-2001 under President Bill Clinton. She was Treasurer when the $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 notes were redesigned in the 1990s and they bear her signature.

A native of Marion County, Withrow served as the treasurer of Ohio, a position to which she was elected in 1982, 1986, and 1990. Before that, she was elected Treasurer of Marion County in 1976 and 1980, making her the only person to have held the post of treasurer at all three levels of government — local, state and national.

Withrow began her career in public service in 1969 as the first woman elected to the Elgin Local School Board in Marion County. She was a Presidential Elector for Ohio in 1992 and a delegate to the 2000 and 2004 Democratic National Conventions.

Withrow is the recipient of numerous honors for her career in finance and politics. She is an activist for women in government.