The Audrey J. Grupe Fellowship in School Psychology was established and funded by gifts from Dr. Audrey J. Grupe and Mary Jane McCarthy. In recognition of the financial aid they received while pursuing their degrees and to commemorate their professional careers, Dr. Grupe and Ms. McCarthy established this fellowship. They wish to help recipients, especially from their home states, earn graduate degrees in school psychology that provide direct and indirect services to children and their families in a school setting. Applicants who accept admission to the specialist program in School Psychology are automatically considered eligible for the Grupe Fellowship.

Candidate Qualifications

Each candidate for the Audrey J. Grupe Fellowship in School Psychology must:

Be admitted as an incoming full-time trainee or enrolled as a continuing full-time trainee in good standing at Illinois State University in the specialist program in School Psychology;

Be a United States citizen with an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university; preference will be given to candidates with undergraduate degrees from Illinois or Indiana institutions;

Have demonstrated academic potential based on their GPA, GRE scores, and other indicators as ranked by the School Psychology Admissions Committee;

Have two letters of recommendation submitted as part of the specialist application process; and

Have evidence of career orientation identified in the University application material and by interviews conducted by the School Psychology Admissions Committee.

Donors Backgrounds

Audrey J. Grupe, born in Elgin, Illinois, was awarded a State of Illinois Scholarship for four years and received her B. S. in Education from Illinois State Normal University in Special Education. After teaching children with mild mental retardation for two years, she earned her M. S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and the recipient of a University Fellowship her final year on campus. She completed her clinical and school psychology doctoral internship at the Marion County Child Guidance Clinic and in the public schools of Indianapolis, Indiana, were she collected data for her dissertation. She served as Chief School Psychologist in the North Shore Schools, Glen Head, New York. In 1968, she accepted a position as associate professor of psychology at Illinois State. Until her retirement in 1987, she was coordinator of the Graduate Program in School Psychology and director of the Psychological Services Center. More than 300 students received their degrees in school psychology during Dr. Grupe's tenure. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology and a Fellow of the American Academy of School Psychology. Upon retirement, she was awarded lifetime membership in the Illinois School Psychologists Association (ISPA) and honored with ISPA's Distinguished Service Award. She also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the National Association of School Psychologists for her contributions to the field of school psychology.

Mary Jane McCarthy, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, received her B.A. from Butler University and M.S.W. (Master of Social Work) from Indiana University. Prior to graduate study, she was a caseworker for the Marion County Department of Public Welfare in Indianapolis and specialized in foster and adoptive home placements. Her graduate study was financed in part by a scholarship from a community agency. She worked as a social worker with unwed mothers and their families for Catholic Charities on Long Island, New York, and as a school social worker in North Babylon, New York. She completed her professional career with the Tri-County Special Education Association and District 87 in Bloomington, Illinois. She was certified and licensed in social work by the State of Illinois and the Association of Certified Social Workers (ACSW).