The Allen and Barbara (Lyons) ’59 Levesque Endowed Book Fund

Criteria: (Six Annual $250 Voucher Awards) The Allen and Barbara (Lyons) ’59 Levesque Endowed Book Fund will be awarded to full-time students who are entering their sophomore, junior, or senior year of study. The applicant should provide evidence of financial need. It should be noted that preference will be given to students majoring in the field of Education.

When Barbara and Allen Levesque established this fund to commemorate Worcester State University’s 125th anniversary, they wrote, “It is our hope that in this small way we can give assistance and encouragement to deserving Worcester State students intending to pursue careers in public or private education.”

Barbara (Lyons) Levesque had a long career in education. Following her graduation from Worcester State Teachers College in 1959, she taught in Worcester public schools for several years before devoting full time to raising three children, Karen, Amy, and Steven. In 1979, she rejoined the academic world, first as a part-time, then as a full-time library assistant at Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Mass., taking early retirement in June 2002. She and her husband, Allen, have resided for thirty-seven years in Chelmsford, Mass., and increasingly spend time at their vacation home in Quechee, Vermont.

Allen H. Levesque received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1959, and a master’s and doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering from Yale University in 1960 and 1965, respectively. He and Barbara were married in Worcester in August 1960. Following a 36-year career in the telecommunications industry, he retired from GTE Laboratories in early 1999 and started an engineering consulting practice. Currently, he is also an adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering at WPI.