Vivette Ravel Rifkin Memorial Scholarship
The Vivette Ravel Rifkin Endowed Scholarship was established to honor Vivette Ravel Rifkin, who dedicated her life to assisting persons who are blind and/or visually impaired. Vivette began reading books to her daughter, Jill, to help her experience the joys of reading. Realizing that other individuals had the same need, Vivette founded Educational Tape Recording for the Blind (ETRB) in Chicago. She led the organization for more than 42 years. Though she graduated from high school at age 16 and received no further education, Rifkin taped more than 3,000 college and graduate school textbooks in her lifetime. Her lifelong commitment to educating individuals with visual impairments resulted in her being awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1999. This scholarship provides support for Illinois State University students teaching those with visual impairments.