The James P. McSherry ’53 Endowed Scholarship

Criteria: (Amount Equal to One Full Annual Tuition Award) The James P. McSherry ’53 Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to:
• A full- or part-time matriculated student
• A student who is majoring in a human service field, including, but not limited to, teaching, sociology, psychology, or criminal justice
Applicants must submit a short essay about a personal experience that was a satisfying “teachable moment” for them and what they learned from it.

James P. McSherry was a gifted student and athlete throughout his childhood, but it wasn’t until he attended WSU that he realized his full potential as a scholar. The son of an accomplished singer and radio personality and player on a Bloomer Girls team, Jim grew up in the Main South section of Worcester. He attended South High School, when it was located between Freeland and Richard streets in Worcester, where he played on the track and field, football, and hockey teams.

However, Jim did not truly excel academically until he was a student at Worcester State Teachers College. “This place did wonders for me,” he says. “The demands of our professors were clear. They were all demanding to the degree that you didn’t think you could do it but realized you could. So I became aware very quickly that I had to work hard.” Jim credits Dr. Lawrence Averill with sparking his interest in psychology. While he majored in education, Jim “took all the psychology classes I could take,” and, by the time he graduated in 1953, he had set a goal to eventually earn his doctorate in psychology.

When Jim arrived in 1949, the student body was growing rapidly and many of the male students wanted to play sports. Jim joined them in developing WSU’s early sports program, playing baseball and basketball all four years. He also played on semi-professional football teams in the Worcester region because a Worcester State football team was not yet formed.

Jim went on to teach fourth grade at Lakeview School for a few months before being drafted into the Army to serve in the Korean War. He served stateside at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in the engineer test unit until 1955. Jim returned to teaching in the Worcester Public Schools from 1955 to 1961, which was when he pursued his master’s degree in education and doctorate in clinical psychology at Boston College.

Next, Jim became an assistant professor of psychology and education at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was presenting a paper on the importance of self-development after age 20 at an American Psychological Association conference in the early 1960s when he met several psychologists from Rohrer, Hibler, and Replogle of Boston. He later joined the firm, becoming a resident partner by the time he left in 1970. That marked the beginning his corporate career—first as vice president of corporate development at United Shoe Machine Corp. in Boston and then vice president of personnel for PepsiCo Inc. in Purchase, N.Y. In 1977, Jim started his own consulting firm, and he has been a consultant to individuals and organizations regarding psychology of performance ever since.

Jim has maintained close ties with WSU. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees and Worcester State Foundation Board of Directors. Jim also served on his reunion planning committee and the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign academic development committee. He is currently a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee. Jim’s professional achievements were recognized with an honorary doctorate of business administration at the University’s 1977 commencement.

Jim hopes that this scholarship will assist many Worcester State students who choose to dedicate themselves to helping others as they fully realize their potential as scholars.