DuBois Scholarship Fund Helps Tomorrow's Teachers at UNL

Kenneth and Eileen DuBois fostered lifelong commitments to learning and teaching. Their family is now honoring that passion by establishing a memorial scholarship to help University of Nebraska-Lincoln students with the same calling.

The Kenneth and Eileen DuBois Elementary Education Scholarship Fund was established in November 2003 by members of their family. The permanent endowment at the University of Nebraska Foundation will be awarded annually to assist UNL students studying elementary education.

The first DuBois scholarship was awarded to Molly Moffatt, a junior elementary education major from Watertown, S.D. In coming years, two scholarships will be funded annually by the endowment.

"Our family values the contributions made by teachers who instill learning as a lifelong pursuit," said the DuBois' grandson, Kevin Kassebaum of Salinas, Calif. "We are honored to remember my grandparents by helping University of Nebraska students as they learn to be teachers."

Kenneth and Eileen DuBois believed in the importance of elementary school teachers who can inspire a desire for lifelong learning in students. According to Marjorie Kostelnik, dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences, it is during the crucial years of elementary education that children develop dispositions and attitudes toward learning that will stay with them their whole lives, making it important that they have quality teachers.

"Often when I speak to elementary education teaching candidates, I am struck by their idealism and desire to help others," Kostelnik said. "They are excited about teaching and want to pass on their enthusiasm for learning to the young children in their classrooms. The Kenneth and Eileen DuBois Scholarship will help to make that dream a reality for students at UNL."

Eileen DuBois began teaching after graduating high school in 1937, and at age 17 she was teaching first- through eighth-grade students in a one-room school. Eileen and Kenneth were married in 1944 and fostered each other's desire to learn and teach. Kenneth DuBois received an academic scholarship at age 16 to attend Peru State Teacher's College and later graduated from Lincoln Aeronautical Institute, where he worked as an instructor for a short time. In 1948 the couple bought a farm near Strang, Neb., where Kenneth farmed until his death in 1972.

After taking time off to raise a family with her husband, Eileen returned to full-time teaching in 1958. With her husband's encouragement and support, she enrolled at the university and became the first of three generations of DuBois family members to graduate from the University of Nebraska, followed by daughter Sandra Kassebaum, son Robert DuBois and grandson Kevin Kassebaum.

Eileen considered it a privilege to teach Fillmore County students and enjoyed her role in their development. Myra Kluck, one of her former students, is now a teacher in Bruning, Neb. "I didn't realize until I got into education myself some of the tremendous gifts (Eileen) gave her students," Kluck said. "She was always strict, but at the same time you came out of her room having had fun along the way."

Eileen continued educating others formally and informally until her death in July 2003. For example, she helped Pina Johnson study for her citizenship in 1998. "Her encouraging words and attitude helped me get my citizenship," Johnson said. "She was a teacher and a friend and was always there to encourage me when I thought I couldn't do something."

The University of Nebraska Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation securing financial support for each of the four campuses of the University of Nebraska since 1936. The foundation bridges relationships with alumni, friends, corporations and other foundations interested in academic excellence for the university.

CONTACT: Robb Crouch or Aaron Bals, NU Foundation, (402) 472-2151