Wilma and Donald R. Haerr Scholarship for Nontraditional Students
Wilma Haerr was 40 when she enrolled as a freshman at Illinois State University. She had vowed to stay home with her children while they were young since her own mother had been forced to work outside the home to support the family after her father left. In 1977, Wilma received her bachelor's degree in social work. Donald R. Haerr had attended Illinois State as a young adult. He completed his degree in agriculture at the U. of I. He and Wilma met the summer after his graduation and married in 1954. Care and concern for the homeless, the poor, those who lack education, and people in general is what motivated Wilma and Donald to establish this fund in 2006 to support students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in social work. Students must be 25 years of age or older.