When Daniel Kerrane Jr. succumbed to
cancer in October 2002, the 37-year-old
Chicago businessman and philanthropist left
behind a pregnant wife, three children and a
legacy of the transformative power of
education. Since his death, Kerrane’s family
and friends have worked to keep his legacy
intact.
Toward that end, Kerrane’s wife, Lynette
Novy Kerrane, and his two business partners
established the Daniel M. Kerrane Jr.
(DMK) Foundation less than a month after
he died. Originally, the foundation provided
financial support to children’s charities,
including the Make-a Wish-Foundation.
Although Kerrane’s friends described
him as, “extremely successful, intelligent and
hard working,” they also insisted he was
humble and would feel uncomfortable that
there’s a foundation in his name.
“He’d be embarrassed and humbled, but
overall very pleased to see that we’re
spending time and resources to tackle
challenges that need to be tackled,” said
David Scherer, trustee and co-founder of the
foundation, and Kerrane’s former business
partner.
“He always wanted to fly under the radar,
added Novy Kerrane.”
Nevertheless, Kerrane cared deeply for
children, and his family and friends were
determined to honor that legacy. “At dinner
parties he’d sit at the kid’s table,” said
Scherer. “When he was alive [Daniel] was a
big supporter of kid’s causes.”
Kerrane was especially passionate about
children’s education, according to his wife.
“[Daniel supported] his children’s
education, and he even taught me how
important education was as he encouraged
me to go back to school and get my masters
[degree],” said Novy Kerrane.
Building on Kerrane’s passion for
education, the foundation created a
scholarship program to improve Chicago
area youths’ and young adults’ educational
opportunities.
The DMK Scholarship Program began
in 2005 as a way to provide access to higher
education, at the Community College level,
for those who may not otherwise attend
college.
“What the foundation does is it takes
students that have high potential, but maybe
don’t have all the financial resources or are
academically under-prepared and starts with
them from the very beginning,” explains
Connie Mixon, DMK Academic Coordinator.
Rashida Cooper fit this profile when she
applied for a DMK scholarship in 2005.
“There were many times that I thought it was
impossible for me to go to [college],” she
said. “I dropped out of high school in the 11th
grade and that devastated my father.”
Rashida’s father died the day before she
started classes at Malcolm X College, 1900
W. Van Buren St.
“He was very excited that I was starting
college,” said Cooper. “At least he knew I
was going to school when he passed away.”
Lacking the necessary finances, however,
Rashida was in jeopardy of not fulfilling her
father’s expectations.
“At the time I started college I was a single
mother of two kids, I worked full-time and
was going to school full-time. When I
received my DMK scholarship, I was able to
quit work and pursue my college education
with full [force].”
The DMK program is a comprehensive
scholarship that provides “last dollar” funding
to pay for the costs associated with attending
college full-time.
“We make every student file for financial
aid but we don’t have them take out any loans,
and then we pay the balance [on their
tuition],” said Scherer.
The tuition balance is typically around
$1,000 a year per student. In addition, the
DMK Scholarship Program provides about
$2500 a year in supplemental funds to cover
various living expenses that may otherwise
cause students to forego college.
“Our scholarship program pays for tuition,
books, transportation and child care services,”
explained Novy Kerrane.
Because of DMK’s financial support,
Shrese Williams, a 2006 graduate of Malcolm
X’s Nursing Program, “didn’t need to worry
about paying for the next class.”
“It was a burden lifted off of me,” she said.
“I’m real thankful for everything they’ve
done for me.”
The students are not the only ones to
benefit from the DMK program. Novy
Kerrane has taken comfort in working with
students who, like her, have faced
significant ordeals.
“Seeing the struggles of the students has
put my and my family’s pain in
perspective,” she said. “It makes me feel
strong because I can look at them and we’ve
shared struggles in different ways, and the
struggling can bind us together.”
Community College students typically
face great financial burdens upon enrolling
in school, according to Ghingo Brooks,
Vice-President of Academic Affairs
Malcolm X College.
“The need [for scholarships] is
tremendous,” said Brooks. “Many students
have no idea how they’re going to pay for
college and it’s tremendous to have the
[DMK] resources to offset those burdens.”
Equally important as a student’s
financial need is their risk for academic
failure, according to Scherer. Accordingly,
the DMK Scholarship Program provides
personalized educational structure and
support to each scholarship recipient.
“We’re not a program that just writes
checks to students,” said Scherer. “What
we have learned is that we must be a
consistent presence in these students’ lives.”
Each DMK scholar is paired with an
individual academic advisor at his or her
school as well as a DMK Scholarship
Coordinator who tracks the students to
ensure they are meeting all requirements,
including a 2.5 GPA each semester. DMK
also pays for all tutoring expenses if students
need extra help with their class work.
“They offer all the tools needed to
succeed and then it’s up to you,” said
Rashida Cooper who received math
tutoring last year. “My self esteem is a lot
higher because I had the support system I
needed [at DMK],”
These myriad of resources make the
DMK Scholarship Program highly sought
after. In 2006, the program’s second year
of operation, DMK received 77 applications
and accepted 24, a 31% acceptance rate.
“We are trying to target potential,” said
Scherer. “The million dollar question is how
do you identify potential?”
Rather than targeting academically gifted
students, DMK looks for applicants who
have not yet reached their academic potential.
“We’re saying you need to have a 2.0 GPA
to enter the program and no minimum for the
SAT or ACT,” explained Scherer.
Low income, high academic need, and high
potential and motivation are all criteria DMK
uses to select scholarship recipients. These
criteria are commonly found in Chicago Public
School (CPS) students, making it a logical
place for DMK to focus its recruiting.
“Chicago Public Schools is the third
largest public school system in the country;
there’s plenty of need there,” said Scherer.
“We’re taking these kids because no one else
will, and we believe these are students who
will add value to society and change lives.”
Scherer attributes DMK’s immediate
success to their close partnership with the City
Colleges of Chicago and Chicago Public
Schools. The long-term success of
scholarship programs is inevitably tied to the
relationship between the school and the donor,
according to Ghingo Brooks.
“I’ve seen how [DMK] works with the
community colleges and CPS,” said Brooks.
“It has been a tremendous match and its
making a difference for our students.”
Perhaps the greatest sign of success for
DMK is that three of their students transferred
to four year universities. The foundation has
agreed to pay $100 per credit hour for
students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree.
Rashida Cooper began classes at
Northern Illinois University last month after
earning her Associate’s Degree as a DMK
scholar.
“When I found out [DMK] gave me a
scholarship to attend a four year university I
felt great,” said Cooper. “It wasn’t even a
requirement of the [original] scholarship.”
Despite several success stories, including
Cooper’s, many DMK scholarship recipients
leave the program before graduating. Twentytwo
students were enrolled in the program in
2005-2006 and eight (36 percent) have since
dropped out.
“Am I happy with [36 percent dropouts]?”
asked Scherer. “No, I want there to be [100
percent] success.”
Scherer argues, however, that success is not
always tangible and cannot be easily measured.
“For the students who have been successful,
it’s been remarkable to see how much they’ve
grown,” said Scherer. I believe we’ve made a
big difference in their lives and that’s not
measured by graduation rates and grades.”
To improve on last year’s numbers, the
foundation decided to provide stronger
support to their scholars by creating a
mentoring program. The mentors, many of
whom are friends of Kerrane, help the
students hone specific skill sets, including
study habits, test taking, and resume writing.
“Each mentor builds a trusting
relationship in order to help maintain GPA
and graduation rates,” said Thania
Panopoulos, Director of the Mentoring
Program for DMK.
The DMK scholarship and the services it
provides keep Kerrane’s love for children and
education at the forefront of his family’s mind,
according to Novy Kerrane. “[The scholarship]
is a legacy for the children so they can grow
up and see who their daddy was.
The DMK foundation is a way for
Kerrane’s children to learn about the father
they didn’t get to fully know.
“For our oldest son, Tyler [the foundation]
brings a sense of peace; to know inside that
there are people who believe in his dad
enough to make this come true.”
For more information on the DMK
Scholarship Program or to fill out an
application visit: www.dmkfoundation.org.
Ben Protess graduated from
Northwestern University in June 2006 and
is working as a staff writer and media
relations coordinator at NLCN as part of the
Northwestern Public Interest Fellowship. He
has worked for CBS 2 Chicago and St.
Leonard’s Ministries on Chicago’s West Side.
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