Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Terry Freeman
July 17, 2002	USC Communication Services
	(719) 549-2219

USC STUDENT EARNS HOWARD SCHOLARSHIP Pueblo, Colo. - Wendy Koch's instructors at the University of Southern Colorado describe her as bright, responsible and highly motivated, just a few of the reasons she was selected as the first recipient of the Dr. Maurice L. Howard Memorial Scholarship. Koch never met Dr. Howard (she was only four years old when he retired from USC), but the 26-year-old student from Salida, Colo. shares his love of education. As a professor of psychology and education, Howard encouraged students to love and pursue learning. He retired in 1979, but continued to enjoy a wide range of interests until his death last year at the age of 87. Established by his daughter and son-in-law, Carolyn J. and Joseph Fishback, II, the $1,000 per year scholarship recognizes excellence in academic achievement for psychology majors and education minors. Maurice Lloyd Howard was born Jan. 9, 1914 in Peniel, Texas and raised on farms in Texas and Oklahoma. He was the only one in a family of 11 children to graduate from college, earning two undergraduate degrees from Bethany Peniel College in Bethany, Okla. He married Virginia Erma Groff in 1940 and worked as a policeman and a high school math teacher before serving his country in World War II and later in the Korean Conflict. Returning to civilian life, Howard obtained his master's degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his doctor of education degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He joined Southern Colorado State College as a professor of psychology in 1962. Wendy Koch is a single mom who has worked as a bookkeeper, a cashier, a waitress and an office assistant. She enrolled at the University of Southern Colorado in the fall of 2000 with the goal of achieving a better life. Dr. Howard believed that to be successful in education, as well as in life, one needed to be well prepared. Koch's preparation for her goal of becoming a clinical psychologist includes near perfect attendance, taking her classes seriously and maintaining her 4.0 grade-point-average as an undergraduate student. Described as "tough but fair," Dr. Howard was known for giving students every chance to succeed. Through the memorial scholarship fund arranged with the USC Foundation, hardworking students like Wendy Koch will be given that chance in Dr. Howard's name. Applicants for the scholarship must be full time students entering their junior year with an overall grade point average of at least 3.25 and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 in their major. The applicant must have a major in psychology or a minor in education. The University of Southern Colorado is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, USC is distinguished by access, opportunity and the overall quality of services provided to its students.