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EAF Scholarships

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Scholarship Applications

Applications for 2020-2021 EAF Departmental Scholarships are due by noon on Friday, October 30, 2020.

Scholarship descriptions and eligibility guidelines

Scholarship availability and amount awarded may change due to fluctuations in endowments. 

The Elwood Egelston Endowed Scholarship

The award amount of this scholarship varies according to interest earned. The award is most commonly $500.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be full-time graduate students
  • Be enrolled in educational administration
  • Maintain a good record of academic achievement
  • Demonstrate leadership ability
  • Intend to make a commitment to a career in education
  • Demonstrate financial need

William L. and Creta D. Sabine Endowed Scholarship

The award amount of this scholarship varies according to interest earned. The minimum award is $500.

William Sabine is a 1931 graduate of ISU and Creta Sabine was a member of the faculty in the Department of Educational Administration for seven years.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be graduate students admitted to a degree program in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations
  • Rank high scholastically
  • Show promise of being an administrator
  • Financial need is not of primary importance, but may be considered

M. M. Chambers Endowed Scholarship

The minimum award is $500.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be admitted to the doctoral program in educational administration
  • Demonstrate interest in higher education administration
  • Show a commitment to a career in higher education
  • Have a record of academic success in graduate work
  • Show financial need

Marcia Escott-Hickrod Non-Traditional Student Endowed Scholarship

The minimum award is $1,000.

The Marcia Escott Hickrod Nontraditional Student Scholarship Award provides financial assistance to adult learners in the master’s degree program in College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA) at Illinois State University. This fund was established by Dr. Marcia Escott Hickrod, who was the first administrator and primary leader of the adult learner program at Illinois State University 1980-1993.

Preference will be given to part-time students. The application essay should discuss goals for professional work in college student personnel, how the applicant meets the criteria, and how receiving this award will assist the applicant.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be a current CSPA master’s student in good standing, having completed at least 9 credit hours in the program.
  • Be considered nontraditional and meet one or more of the following criteria:
    • Financially independent
    • Work full-time while enrolled
    • Is a parent
    • Or other extenuating circumstances. 

The Patricia H. Klass/Linda L. Lyman Endowed Scholarship

The minimum award is $1,000.

The scholarship is funded by an anonymous donor for P-12 doctoral students who have demonstrated service to children in P-12 schools. Preference will be given to applicants serving rural public school populations.

Candidates must be current P-12 doctoral students in good standing (3.0 or higher) and demonstrate:

  • Service to children in a P-12 school setting
  • A history of commitment to an education career

McCluskey Family Travel Award

This scholarship, provided by June McCluskey, provides funding for up to five CSPA master’s students in good standing to attend a professional association conference as part of the students' professional development.

Priority will be given to students who make a presentation, serve on a committee or task force, and/or who will not receive funding to attend the conference from another source. The application should include an explanation of how the student's participation will affect professional development and complement the student's graduate studies.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be current CPSA students in good standing
  • Submit a brief description of the professional development conference or workshop the student would like to attend (when and where it is, the student's role in the conference, and topics covered in the program)

Elden A. Lichty Endowed Scholarship

The amount of each scholarship will be determined by the amount of interest earned. The minimum award is $500.

Family and friends created the Elden A. Lichty Scholarship fund at the time of Dr. Lichty's death on September 17, 1987. Dr. Lichty came to ISU as a principal of Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School in 1945. Two years later, he became a member of the Department of Education at ISNU. He was one of seven members on a national committee on the junior college level which drew up the model plan for Illinois prior to 1965. The plan served as a model for junior college legislation in many other states across the U.S.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be a graduate student admitted either to the master's or doctoral program in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations
  • Demonstrate interest in community college administration and/or teaching, or who are admitted to the master's or doctoral degree program in an academic field with a professed interest in teaching at a community college
  • Have taken EAF 473, a course in their major field with an emphasis on teaching in a community college, or have acquired previous teaching experience at a community college
  • Demonstrate financial need
  • Have a proven record of academic success in graduate work
  • Show a specific interest in employment at a community college

Hubbard-Hickrod Endowed Scholarship

The amount of each scholarship will be determined by the amount of interest earned, but the minimum award is $500.

The purpose of this scholarship is to assist students who are seeking a career as professors of educational administration, particularly those interested in teaching and researching K-12 school finance. This scholarship honors Dr. Benjamin Hubbard and Dr. Alan Hickrod, distinguished professors emeritus whose careers were dedicated to improving financial resources for Illinois schools and all the children they serve.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be full-time graduate students majoring in educational administration
  • Have a doctoral dissertation proposed and/or accepted in the area of P-20 educational finance
  • Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in graduate coursework at Illinois State University

Under special circumstances (determined by the chair of EAF) the scholarship may be awarded to support post-doctoral research in educational finance.

Edward R. Hines Higher Education Endowed Scholarship

The minimum award is $500.

In order to be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be doctoral students enrolled in the higher education concentration
  • Have completed at least 24 semester credit hours of EAF coursework
  • Have at least a 3.25 GPA
  • Demonstrate integrity, a commitment to a career in higher education, and leadership on behalf of the higher education community

The scholarship was created to help students complete their doctoral studies and to emphasize the higher education community through four selection criteria:

  • Academic achievement: The candidate must be a contributing member of a higher education community and demonstrate satisfactory academic achievement.
  • Commitment: The candidate must foster community by demonstrating a commitment to a career in higher education. One can demonstrate commitment without having extensive experience.
  • Integrity: The candidate must demonstrate the following three components: morality, honesty, and sincerity. Morality gives recognition to ethical values and choices that higher education leaders must make. Honesty is truthfulness in dealings with others, including students. Sincerity is being genuine and open in relationships with both individuals and groups.
  • Active leadership: The candidate must provide the momentum to create community.

Irvin Family Endowed Scholarship in EAF

The purpose of this scholarship is to support students seeking a Ph.D. Preferred candidates are students in k-12 systems interested in the areas of social justice, advocacy, and equality. Work should represent this democratic ideal through theory and practice. Current doctoral students in EAF are eligible for this award. They should be in good standing and have passed their comprehensive exams or defended their research proposal.

Applicants must submit an essay with their application identifying how they have used democratic idea in their professional and academic life and how they plan to use it in future endeavors.

Odessa Meyer Endowed Scholarship

The minimum award is $1,000 a year for up to 5 years. The purpose of the award is to develop and support the scholarly excellence of EAF doctoral students from underrepresented groups. Priority will be given to doctoral students from underrepresented groups interested in participating in scholarly activities. Apply to the Odessa Meyer Endowed Scholarship.

Eligibility requirements:

  • The student must be an EAF doctoral student from an underrepresented group
  • The student must demonstrate strong academic and research potential in classes and remain in good academic standing throughout the duration of the scholarship award.
  • The student must demonstrate an interest in, and potential to, participate in scholarly activities.
  • The student must collaborate with an EAF faculty member who agrees to serve as mentor for up to five years. The faculty member must write a letter supporting the student’s application, addressing:
      • Student’s academic ability and interest in pursuing scholarly activities
      • Short- and long-term goals and activities for the student over the five-year period

If a faculty member is unable to continue serving as a mentor to the student, the EAF department chair will work with the student to identify another mentor for the remaining duration of the scholarship.

The LEADS Endowed Fellowship

The Leadership in Educational Administration for the Development of Schools (LEADS) and CPED selection committee will award up to five LEADS fellowships for 2018-2019. The amount awarded will be based on the costs incurred by students while they conduct and disseminate results of their action research projects. Awards will range from $1,000-$2,000 per student-faculty research team. The maximum dollar amount and number of awards given annually is impacted by the quantity and quality of research proposals received. Apply now.

The Department of Educational Administration and Foundations' doctoral program is dedicated to preparing educational leaders for the future. The acronym, LEADS is a succinct expression of the department's longstanding commitment to strengthen the K-12 public schools through sound graduate education. Students invest several years to complete their degree. Most students in the doctoral, superintendent, and CSBO endorsement programs simultaneously work full-time and maintain family responsibilities. A great need exists to provide significant support to these students for one-two semesters of their program, allowing them to trade full-time work obligations for full-time graduate study. The LEADS fellowship program supports the completion of a school-based action research project conducted by a student who works individually with one or more faculty members. An award would cover a range of costs associated with developing a research idea, systematically investigating it, writing it up and sharing it with audiences inside and outside of the school community in the form of a publication, conference presentation, or presentation to departmental faculty.

Eligibility requirements
  • Must be enrolled in the EAF P-12 doctoral, superintendent or CSBO endorsement program
  • Must be involved in school development at their current position 
  • Must demonstrate clear direction with the project
  • Must have selected a faculty member to work with
Use of funds

Students may also spend the money up front to get a project started. Eligible expenses include but are not limited to:

  • Release time from work
  • Time for data entry or transcription
  • Time for data collection
  • Travel to a conference
  • Summer costs
Application essay

The application essay requires students to describe:

  • Their ideas for school development
  • How the award will be utilized during their educational experience
  • How and with which external audiences will they share the project
  • The project's anticipated beginning, middle and an end. 

If the project will be an exploratory study, the essay should answer:

  • What is the school-based problem?
  • What is the student's own ownership in the process?
  • What is the product of the research? 
  • What processes is the student using?

The application should include a cover page with the names and contact information for student-faculty team and:

Part 1: Narrative (up to 1200 words maximum)

  • Description of proposed research and school-based problem
  • Purpose and scope of the study
  • Methods to carry out the study
  • Proposed final product

Part 2: Appendices

  • Timeline for accomplishing project
  • Proposed budget
  • Short bibliography of relevant research
  • If IRB approval needed, commitment to complete training and IRB submission prior to the semester when the project begins
Application procedure
  1. The P-12 doctoral student and the faculty mentor send an application to the LEADS/CPED selection committee outlining the school-based research project they would like to conduct. The client-university agreement form with appropriate signatures must be attached.
  2. If approved, the team obtains IRB approval (if applicable) to ensure that the project can be initiated.
  3. The school-based research project is presented to EAF faculty on campus at a LEADS/CPED Symposium. Symposiums typically occur twice during the fall and spring semesters and once during summer sessions. The symposium is intended to strengthen and expand the project for the fellows.
  4. The team works with the department's staff to receive payments and pay accrued costs as outlined in the budget.

Timeline: Applicants apply to the program the semester prior to starting their projects. Applications will be considered July 1 though March 1 during the academic year. The LEADS/CPED selection committee selects recipients on October 1 (for the spring semester), March 1 (for the summer semester), and May 1 (for the fall semester).

Dr. Neal R. Gamsky Endowed Assistantship in College Student Personnel Administration

This endowed assistantship was established in 2005 by Dr. Neal R. Gamsky, vice president emeritus for student affairs at Illinois State University. The purpose of the Dr. Neal R. Gamsky Endowed Assistantship is to recognize a promising, high-potential, first-year student enrolled in the CSPA Master's Degree Program, and to encourage involvement in student affairs broadly through a generalist graduate assistantship position. Recipients are referred to throughout their graduate programs as Gamsky Fellows.

The Gamsky Endowed Assistantship application process is handled outside of the EAF department's scholarship application. Learn about the Gamsky application process.

Adam Kent Riegle Professional Development Award

Adam K. Riegle (1982-2014) earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Monmouth College in 2006 and his master’s degree in CSPA from Illinois State University in 2008. He worked professionally at St. Olaf University and Northern Illinois University as a residence hall director. While at Illinois State University, Adam held a graduate assistantship at Lincoln College-Normal and with the Illinois State University Career Center. Everyone who knew Adam appreciated his kindness, his sense of humor, and his commitment to his students. His wife, Brandie Miller Riegle is also a 2008 CSPA alum. Adam was a strong advocate for professional development and skill enhancement for himself and his staff through participation in additional training opportunities. It is especially appropriate that Adam’s family, friends, faculty, and colleagues would want to honor his memory with a special award.

This professional development award is given annually in Adam’s memory and provides funding for CSPA master’s students in good standing to attend a professional conference, enroll in a class/workshop/webinar, or purchase educational materials as part of their ongoing professional development program.

Priority will be given to students who will not receive funding from another source.

To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Be current CPSA students in good standing
  • Submit the EAF scholarship application
  • Submit a brief description of the professional development conference, workshop/class, or materials they wish to register for or purchase, and how the conference or workshop participation/use of materials will support students' professional development.
  • Applicants should submit a brief description of the professional development conference, workshop/class, or materials you wish to register for or purchase (where, when, topics covered in the program/conference/materials) and how conference or workshop participation/use of materials will support your professional development.

Rev.  Dr. Joanne Peppard-Cooke Doctoral Grant

The Reverend Dr. Joanne Peppard-Cooke Doctoral Grant Fund was established by Dr. Cooke in 2003. The primary purpose of the fund is to provide financial support to women doctoral candidates in the Educational Administration and Foundations Department to assist with expenses associated with the completion of the doctoral dissertation and graduation.

Candidate Qualifications

Each candidate for a Rev. Dr. Joanne Peppard-Cooke doctoral grant must:

  • Be a female graduate student in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations who has completed her dissertation proposal and all coursework related to the doctoral program
  • Plan to complete her dissertation and graduate within two years of receiving the grant
  • Submit a written recommendation from at least one faculty member who is familiar with the candidate's interests and performance to the dean of the College of Education or be nominated by the dean
  • Demonstrate financial need

COE Scholarships

The College of Education also offers scholarships to graduate-level education students. The application period for College of Education scholarships will be October 15-November 15 2017.

Thank you to our donors.

The EAF Department is thankful for the generous donors of the departmental scholarships. To support your passion and help others with their educational pursuits, consider giving to the College.

GALA award and scholarship recipients will be honored at the inaugural EAF on the Red Carpet Spring GALA

Scholarship Recipients

Past winners.

2020-10-19T14:07:16.605-05:00 2020