Jay and Jyoti Chaudhry gift $4 million for first-generation students

Jay, CEO of Zscaler, is himself a first-generation student who grew up in a small Indian village in Himachal Pradesh.

By Arun Kumar

An Indian American couple, Jagtar “Jay” Chaudhry and P. Jyoti Chaudhry, have established the Chaudhry Family Scholarship Fund with a $4 million gift to the University of Cincinnati to support first-generation college students.

This generous and visionary donation will fund the UC education of about 150 first-generation, Pell-eligible students in UC’s Gen-11MPACT House, a residential community beginning in the fall of 2025, according to a university press release. The scholarship fund will fill the financial gaps of every Pell-eligible student living in the Gen-1 1MPACT House after Federal Pell and other grants are awarded.

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“I’m truly grateful that Jay and Jyoti are dedicated partners in our ongoing commitment to first-generation students,” said UC President Neville G. Pinto. “Their generosity will forever change the lives of these students, their families and their communities.”

“We are very grateful for the excellent education we got at UC which played a significant role in our success. In fact, both of us got tuition scholarships for our graduate studies without which we couldn’t afford to get our masters’ degrees,” said Jay and Jyoti Chaudhry.

“This scholarship fund is a gesture of our gratitude and appreciation to our alma mater that will help many needy students to complete their college education and change their and their families’ lives.”

Jay and Jyoti are accomplished entrepreneurs who have a history of introducing visionary innovations to secure organizations against growing cyber threats while enabling their digital transformation, the release stated.

Jay is the CEO of Zscaler, a leader in cloud security, that he and his wife Jyoti founded in 2007. Before starting Zscaler, together, they founded a series of successful companies, including AirDefense, CipherTrust, CoreHarbor and SecureIT.

He is a first-generation student and grew up in a small Indian village called Panoh in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas. He says his parents prioritized their children’s education.

Jay holds two Masters’ degrees from the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science and earned his MBA from the UC Carl H. Lindner College of Business. Jyoti also has an MBA from the Lindner College of Business.

UC’s Gen-1 Program, established in 2008, is the nation’s first living-learning community to focus on first-generation college students. As the first in their families to attend college, Gen-1 students face unique challenges when transitioning to college.

The Gen-1 Program and 1MPACT House provide them with a structured environment in which to live, learn and work towards their degrees. This includes academic, personal and social programming; mentoring and tutoring; in-house academic advising; workshops on financial aid and studying abroad; cooking classes; cultural activities and service projects.

Fall 2025 marks the program’s 18th year, and the numbers illustrate that students in this program do succeed when offered these enhanced supports. UC’s Gen-1 first to second-year retention rate is 98% compared to the national rate of 68% for first-generation college students, as reported by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in Higher Education. Among UC Gen-1 students, 78% complete their degrees compared to 29% nationally.

Suzette Combs, director of the Gen-1 Program and 1MPACT House, said the Chaudhrys’ gift removes financial stress and allows students to focus on their academic work and engage in extra-curricular opportunities that might include participating in study abroad programs, internships, and campus leadership roles that align with their career goals.

“This gift lets them know that there are people out there who believe in them and think they belong here,” Combs said. “There’s very little that can take the place of that and it is empowering for our students.”

UC’s Gen-1 students have succeeded in various careers, including the corporate world and the nonprofit sector. Several have pursued careers at UC and are paying it forward as financial aid advisors, academic advisors and success coaches. “You name it, they are out there doing it and doing it well,” Combs said.