The Don and Mary Jane Howard Endowed Scholarship

Criteria: (Amount Equal to One Full Annual Tuition Award) The Don and Mary Jane Howard Scholarship will be awarded to an elementary education major in his/her sophomore, junior, or senior year who demonstrates a desire to teach at a public elementary school. First preference will be given to applicants who are the first in their family to attend college. Applicants should provide a short essay attesting to the need for this grant and their interest in becoming an elementary education teacher.

WSU figures prominently in the personal and professional success of Mary Jane Howard and her late husband, Donald, both of whom were the first in their families to attend college. The couple met while pursuing their bachelor’s degrees in teaching. In fact, the Worcester State Teachers College (WSTC) library is where Don, a starter on the men’s basketball team, asked Mary Jane out on their first date. Upon graduation—Don in 1951 and Mary Jane in 1953—they each became teachers in the Worcester Public School System. “When we graduated, we had the teaching skills and self-confidence to know we could do the job,” Mary Jane said. “It carried us through life.”

A few months out of the Army at the conclusion of World War II, Don applied to WSTC mainly because friends urged him to take advantage of the GI Bill. The experience transformed him. Once a high-school student more interested in playing basketball than studying, Don remembered WSTC helping him become “a scholar rather than just a student.”

Don, who also earned his master’s degree from WSTC in 1956 and a law degree from Suffolk University, held many positions in the education field, including teacher, coach, assistant principal, personnel director, and labor relations consultant. Mary Jane worked as a first-grade teacher for several years before becoming a stay-at-home mother. She later built on this experience when she served as an English as a Second Language teacher for 25 years. “There is just something exhilarating about teaching anyone who is learning something brand new,” she said.

Don and Mary Jane became increasingly active alumni when they retired. Don served on the Alumni Association’s Advisory Board, Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, and as a class agent. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. Both of them were very involved in reunion activities. “In planning for our 50th reunions, we could see how much the college had grown and changed,” Don said.

Impressed with the education Worcester State University continues to provide students, they decided to create an endowed scholarship for an elementary education major. “We’re hoping it will help students go to college. They’re not going to have the GI Bill like I did,” Don said.