Contact: Maridith Geuder
Lowndes Scottish Rite Association officers recently established a scholarship fund at MSU. Association officers (from left) Charles Waldron, Ed Humphries and Wilbur Hartle (second from right) made the presentation to Carlen Henington and Thomas Hosie.
A donation from the Lowndes County Scottish Rite Association is supporting two graduate scholarships at Mississippi State.
Made through the MSU Foundation to the university's school psychology program, the Masonic organization's contribution is designed to assist children having academic difficulties because of dyslexia.
"We want to make a difference for children, and the scholarships we are funding will help support graduate studies for MSU school psychology students who will work with children with dyslexia," said Charles H. Waldron, Lowndes County Scottish Rite Foundation chairman.
Accredited by the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists, the program is a part of the department of counseling, educational psychology, and special education in MSU's College of Education.
Under the direction of faculty members Carlen Henington and Tony Doggett, some 35 to 40 graduate students annually learn skills in classroom management, academic and behavioral interventions, assessment, and program evaluation for children from birth to 21 years of age.
Henington and department head Thomas Hosie accepted the endowment check from Waldron and fellow association officers Ed Humphries and Wilbur Hartle at a recent campus ceremony.
"As part of their training, the graduate students work with local school districts to assist teachers and parents who have children experiencing academic and behavioral problems," Henington explained.
All MSU school psychology graduate students must complete an approved internship to culminate their training, she said. In the past, students have interned at Johns Hopkins University, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and school districts in Houston and Fort Worth, Texas, among others.
In addition, MSU graduate students have spent the past two summers offering their services to Golden Triangle-area children through monthlong academic clinics.
"Through these summer programs, we're able to provide assistance in reading, writing and mathematics, with individualized instruction for each child," Henington said. All children enrolled over the last two years have shown improvement in their academic achievement, she added.
The Scottish Rite Scholarship is an open fund in the Mississippi State University Foundation and may be increased through additional contributions. For more information, telephone Amy Cagle at (662) 325-1006.