Ferne Hinshaw-Hardt Endowed Scholarship Fund
In 1987, Darlene H. Baxter Severin, an ISNU '43 graduate who went on to teach 31 years, made provision through a bequest in her will to establish a scholarship fund in honor of her sister, Ferne Hinshaw-Hardt, to assist female students attending ISU, with priority given to graduates of Ridgeview High School with demonstrated need. Ferne had stepped in when their mother died, raised Darlene from age two, and encouraged her to seek a college degree. Candidates were to have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5/4.0. In 2009, in consultation with the executor of Severin's estate, this award was updated to follow current practices of the College of Education. The purpose is now to provide financial assistance to female students majoring in education who intend to become teachers, have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5/4.0, and have demonstrated financial need, with priority given to students from Central Illinois.