The Carol and James Donnelly Early Education and Care Graduate Scholarship

The Carol and James Donnelly Early Education and Care Graduate Scholarship will be awarded to a student working in the fields of day care or preschool education, and matriculated in WSU’s Early Childhood Education master’s degree program. Applicants working in Head Start will be given preference. Applicants must submit an essay explaining why they need or deserve this scholarship along with their application.

Worcester State University Professor Carol Donnelly, Ed.D., and her husband, Jim, established the Early Education and Care Graduate Scholarship to support professionals in the field of early education and care who wish to earn a master’s degree in early childhood education at Worcester State.

Dr. Donnelly, who is the coordinator of Worcester State’s Master of Science in Early Childhood Education program, has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in early childhood, special education, educational administration, and early literacy for over 15 years. She has overseen Worcester State’s Building Careers program, which supports professionals in early education and care who are working to earn their bachelor’s degrees.

Mr. Donnelly, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Boston College, is an attorney at Mirick O’Connell, specializing in business litigation. The couple also support and hold offices in various charitable and cultural causes.

Dr. and Mr. Donnelly recognize the importance of early childhood education and the chronic shortage of funds to compensate the hardworking, dedicated professionals in this field. In establishing the scholarship, Dr. Donnelly noted, “Today there are many resources to help early childhood professionals earn undergraduate degrees, but there are almost no resources to support graduate study. The field needs leaders, and there are many outstanding professionals ready to succeed in a graduate program.”