The Dr. and Mrs. Harold P. Wells Scholarship is available to City of DeKalb Fire Department employees, retirees, and their immediate family or Kishwaukee Education Consortium Fire Sciences Program graduates. The Dr. & Mrs. Harold P. Wells Scholarship is administered at the DeKalb County Community Foundation and the award can be used to offset expenses for any educational purpose. Examples include college tuition, any fire course, educational short courses, conferences and camps (music camp, space camp, etc.). Applications are available from February 1 – April 1.

Scholarship Criteria:

• • Any employee or retired employee of the DeKalb Fire Department (including chief officers and office staff).
  • Immediate family of an employee or retired employee of the DeKalb Fire Department.
  • Graduates of the Fire Sciences Program at the Kishwaukee Education Consortium.
  • Dr. and Mrs. Harold P. Wells Scholarship Guidelines >

Apply online >

History of the Scholarship Opportunity:

Wilma and Harold Wells

Dr. Harold P. Wells earned his bachelor’s in physical education from Springfield, Massachusetts. He went on to earn a master’s and then a doctorate in physical education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He taught in many places including Bangkok, Thailand, University of Illinois, Yale University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and  Northern Illinois University.

Dr. Wells was interested in people who wished to further their education. His wish for this Fund was to help DeKalb Fire Department members and their families have a chance at furthering their education in some small way. He chose the DeKalb Fire Department because his youngest son was a member of the department at the time of his death. Dr. Wells lived in DeKalb for more than one-third of his life. He established this scholarship to give back, helping those who serve their community in the fire service.