Steve Whitener hasn’t forgotten the support he received as a college student at UM-Flint. He was slated to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business. He worked 32 to 40 hours a week at Kroger to help pay for school, but as a senior, he struggled to pay for college, along with basics like groceries, gasoline, and rent. But university officials helped Whitener land a series of scholarships. Several of them came from small organizations or clubs. This helped Whitener to stay in school and graduate.

Since then, Steve Whitener has carved out a long and successful business career. After graduating, Whitener purchased several real estate properties, and had a successful career at Westinghouse Electric. Co., Eaton Cutler Hammer, Pirelli International, and Anixter. Whitener founded National Systems Installers in 1993 to provide infrastructure cabling services to companies. In 1999, he founded Nuspire Networks, which offers managed IT security services to companies.

Whitener expressed his gratitude to the university by establishing two endowed scholarships: Stephen A. Whitener Scholarship for Innovators, and Whitener Merit Plus. Whitener said these are intended to leverage and support the talent on campus with 2-3 full-ride scholarships per year. Both scholarships supported more than 50 students since 2017. Whitener visits the campus on many occasions, as the chairman of the School’s business advisory board and attends many of the events, during which he talks to students about his business career and keys to entrepreneurial success.