The Ruth (Hamley) and Francis Dyson Endowed Scholarship
Criteria: (One $1,000.00 award annually) The Ruth (Hamley) and Francis Dyson Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to a full-time
undergraduate student who is involved in multiple extracurricular activities and demonstrates financial need. Preference will be given to applicants who have either worked with or volunteered to help developmentally delayed individuals. Applicants must provide a short essay attesting to their need for this grant, to the impact extracurricular activities have had on their Worcester State experience, and what they learned from working with the developmentally delayed.
While Professor Emeritus Francis Dyson’s teaching career at Worcester State spanned 33 years, his special rapport with members of the Class of 1965 earned him an invitation to their reunion in 2010. Making it even more memorable was a surprise announcement by Fran’s daughter, Jennifer, that she and her husband, Steve, established this endowed scholarship in honor of him and his wife, Ruth.
Fran, a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, played basketball and baseball during his undergraduate years. He was the first-baseman when the Holy Cross baseball team won the national championship in 1952. Fran taught physical education from 1959 to 1992. He also coached basketball from 1959 to 1970, baseball from 1970 to 1981, and the golf team for two years. His friendliness, encouragement, and high expectations earned him the admiration of students and players alike. Under his leadership, the basketball team won more than 100 games and won the New England State College Championship in 1962. Fran’s baseball team made it to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament in 1978.
Fran was innovative and helped establish the traditions WSU sports players enjoy today. Hired shortly after the opening of the gymnasium, Fran said he noticed the basketball hoops had not yet arrived and decided to make temporary basketball hoops with lumber and chicken wire so his players could practice. While coaching baseball, he began taking his team to Florida for spring training. He was the first coach to take the baseball team on that trip. In 1992, Fran’s contributions to the WSU sports program were recognized with an induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame. Ruth was a member of the Faculty Wives Club, serving as its president for a number of years. She developed many lifelong friendships with club members. Primarily a social organization, the club’s members also raised money for student scholarships. In the late 1970s, Ruth worked in the campus bookstore. This strengthened her connection to Worcester State, for she met many faculty members and students there. Ruth supported the athletics program as well. At the end of each basketball and baseball season, she helped Fran host a dinner for his players.Ruth’s connection to Worcester State began when she was 10, shortly after her mother’s death. She recalled a teacher, Florence Bassett ’29, giving her a hat and mittens in a beautifully wrapped box. At one of the first Faculty Wives Club meetings Ruth attended, she met one of Florence’s friends, Professor Emerita Madelin Wilmarth ’25, and shared the story with her. Ruth later learned from Madelin that Florence remembered making this kind gesture.
Early in Fran’s career, Ruth’s brother Norman attended WSU, first earning this bachelor’s degree in 1963 and then his master’s degree in 1965. Over the years, Fran became known for making beautiful furniture. Fran and Ruth’s joint hobbies are antiquing and
traveling. Fran and Ruth are dedicated parents of not only Jennifer, but also their adopted son, Jimmy. They also enjoy spending time with their three beloved grandchildren.