Lawson Legacy Family Endowed Scholarship Fund
The Lawson Legacy Family Scholarship was initially established in 2009 in honor of the 60th wedding anniversary of Robert Kent Lawson and Helen Delores Akers Lawson. Robert and Delores met while attending Illinois State Normal University. Robert's mother, Avis Anna Crosby Lawson, also an alum of Illinois State, influenced all four of her children to pursue higher education degrees. In addition to Robert, his sister Ruth also graduated from ISNU, along with five of her seven children. In addition, daughter, Cindy Leigh Lawson ('73, '77, '93) is also an Illinois State graduate. Following Robert's death in 2010 daughter, Cindy Lawson and her husband Steven Kester decided to provide a tribute to the Lawson family legacy at Illinois State and established the Lawson Family Legacy Endowed Scholarship Fund. The purpose of this scholarship is to provide assistance to outstanding special education majors who exemplify the excellence of Illinois State University special education graduates.