Dr. James Whitehead (EDD ‘70) has fond memories of his time as an IU School of Education student; he obtained both his Master and Doctorate degrees there, and it was at IU that he met his wife, Marjorie Ann Pattison Whitehead (BSE ‘51).  In memory of his late wife, Dr. Whitehead has established the Marjorie Ann Pattison Whitehead Scholarship in Early Childhood Education. Both Dr. and Mrs. Whitehead dedicated their careers to students.

While Dr. Whitehead worked with college-age students, serving as Associate Dean of Students at the University of Houston, Marjorie’s passion was for early childhood education.  She designed a childcare center open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which could accommodate 400 children located at the Texas Medical Center.

According to Dr. Whitehead, his degrees from the IU School of Education opened up many doors for him, and he recognizes the importance of supporting future teachers.  He remembers Marjorie as someone whose “love for children was unbounded, completely unbounded.” She was dedicated to helping children, and was selfless. “The very least I could do, in her memory, was fund a scholarship for early childhood education.  She would have loved it.” Her legacy as an extraordinary educator will live on through scholarships provided to future early childhood educators, thanks to Dr. Whitehead’s generosity.