Edward J. and Frances Allen Cleary Scholarship in Special Education

The Edward J. and Frances Allen Cleary Scholarship in Special Education is available through the University of Central Missouri Alumni Foundation for a junior or senior student pursuing a degree in special education. This scholarship is made possible by way of a gift from Edward J. and Frances Allen Cleary in memory of their son, Timothy James Cleary, who died February 11, 1993, at the age of 29.

Timmy was the victim of an attack of spinal meningitis when he was ten months old, which left him profoundly brain damaged, blind, and speechless, and his family tried desperately to seek the best medical, educational, and spiritual help for him. Timmy was a focal point of the love, compassion, and caring of his parents, two brothers, and two sisters and was always at the center of their consciousness. In order that this brief time on earth not be forgotten, this scholarship was established to help students who will one day work with mentally and physically impaired children; students who, someday as teachers, will help these children with their own love, compassion and caring.