Dr. Ann Gerard Fellowship Fund
The Dr. Ann Gerard Fellowship Fund was established in 2018 and provides scholarships for graduate students in the School of Education and Counseling Psychology, with a preference for students studying special education.
Learn a little more about Dr. Ann Gerard
Dr. Joyce “Ann” Howard was born in Belville, Illinois, on May 1, 1932, the second daughter of Lawrence Howard and Blanche Trout. She attended Red Oak Junior College and Western Michigan University, where she earned a BS in occupational therapy. With four young kids of her own, two of which were afflicted with rod monochromatism with 20/200 vision, Ann enrolled in a MA program at Western Michigan University, determined to make a positive impact as a teacher of disabled children.
It did not take long for her talents to be recognized and she was named Director of Special Education. She was then offered a position at Boston College, where she developed a combined graduate degree program that included a Masters in Special Education and Educational Administration. While in Massachusetts, Ann married Roger, a father of two young children and became a mother of six. She also began her doctoral dissertation.
In 1973, Ann found her dream job at Santa Clara University. She became the Director of Special Education within the School of Education and Counseling Psychology, and like she did at Boston College, developed a combined graduate degree program that included a Master’s in Special Education and Educational Administration. In 1978, she was awarded her PhD from Boston College.
While on sabbatical, Roger’s work took the two of them to Saudi Arabia, and there, Ann learned of a home for disabled children, the Disabled Children's Center in Riyadh. She immediately recognized the work that was needed and trained teachers to work with disabled kids. When the work couldn’t be completed during her year-long sabbatical, she continued to return to Saudi Arabia, taking unpaid leaves from SCU in order to do so.
Eventually, Ann and Roger moved back to the east coast and in October 2003, Ann was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). She faced a number of neurological conditions before passing away on November 18, 2016, ten days short of her 46th wedding anniversary. Her legacy lives on in the lives of students and children she impacted throughout her life.