Index
Scholarships
The Robert A. Kerr, Class of 1940, Scholarship
The Robert A. Kerr, Class of 1940, Scholarship, established in 2006, is awarded with first preference given to entering students from South Carolina, Rockland County, N.Y., or Montgomery County, Ohio. This fund was established in his memory, by his sons, William A. Kerr '79, Robert A. Kerr '81, and Alexander K. Kerr '87.
Robert Kerr, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, and a successful banker and businessman, was born to William and Edna Kerr in Haverstaw, New York. Academically gifted, he skipped several grades and came to Hamilton at age 15. He became a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and graduated from Hamilton with an A.B. in economics. Bob then enlisted with the U.S. Naval Reserve and fought in World War II, taking part in the landings on Sicily and Normandy. He was the youngest destroyer captain in the War.
Bob began his banking career in 1945 with Irving Trust Group in New York City, where he resumed working after briefly commanding a destroyer in the Korean War. He married Twyliah Hamstreet, a former staffer for President Dwight Eisenhower, on December 21, 1956 and the couple had three sons—William “Woody”, Class of 1979, Robert Jr., Class of 1981, and Alex, Class of 1987. Bob became a senior vice president at Irving Trust Group in 1965, and was then named president of Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio. He was subsequently named chairman and CEO of Winters National Corporation, and, upon the merger of Winters into Bank One, was named the chairman of Bank One Dayton and a director of Bank One Corporation. He retired from banking in 1984.
For several years, Bob was a Trustee of both the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Hamilton College. The College greatly benefitted from his financial expertise when he served as treasurer. He published a novel, Destiny’s Bequests, in 2003. Bob died in 2005.
Other family members associated with Hamilton College are sons William, Class of 1979, Robert Jr., Class of 1981, and Alexander, Class of 1987; and grandchildren, William Kerr, Class of 2012, and Sarah Kerr, Class of 2014.
August 2014
Please note: The named scholarships profiled on these pages are awarded as part of the College’s need-based financial aid packages. These funds help ensure the Hamilton Promise of keeping education affordable through meeting a student’s full demonstrated financial need.
Materials published here were diligently researched and written by students who strived for historical accuracy.
