Flo Curtis Special Education
Endowment at MSU
Established in 2015
This endowment provides two scholarships each year, in addition to supplemental funding for the MSU Education Internship Seminar Program. As a result, the MSU Education Program will be able to fund speakers and materials to support interns in special education program placements during their 5th year. The Flo Curtis Special Education Endowment will help strengthen generations of new educators just as Flo always worked to do.
About Flo
Florence Curtis was a founding member of LDA of Michigan and worked tirelessly to secure a productive and vibrant future for our state affiliate. While Flo was generally content working behind the scenes to make sure everyone and everything was cared for, she was a force known throughout Michigan (and beyond!). Flo devoted the majority of her life to understanding, advocating, and legislating for individuals with learning disabilities and was honored to be the very first recipient of the Learning Disabilities Association of America’s Volunteer of the Year award.
As a former Special Education Teacher, Flo valued education and strongly believed in continuing education opportunities for all teachers. This belief was seen consistently in all she did at LDA of Michigan, but in particular, through her work with the LDA of Michigan Annual Conference held each year at the Kellogg Center on the campus at Michigan State University (MSU). Over the years, Flo ensured that students in the MSU Special Education program had opportunities to attend and learn at conference. She worked with faculty and advisors at MSU to provide varied volunteer opportunities for MSU students such as assisting at registration, introducing speakers and welcoming participants. Flo was committed to ensuring that these students not only had opportunities for learning at the conference, but had opportunities to connect with leaders in education throughout the nation through LDA of America. Because of Flo’s efforts, generations of new educators were better prepared to enter the classroom.
Though we lost Flo in October of 2012, we at LDA of Michigan have worked to ensure her legacy will live on. Through donations and hard work, LDA of Michigan has established the LDA of Michigan Flo Curtis Special Education Endowment at Michigan State University.