Keith Board Student Scholarships

Each year INPS North Chapter will award 2 student scholarships to qualified recipients. The scholarship is a one-year membership in INPS and registration to attend INPS annual conference (held in Indianapolis area 2020) plus stipend for travel and lodging. The applicant is required to:

  • Be currently enrolled in an accredited high school, college or university in one of the North Chapter counties (Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, La Porte, Marshall, Porter, Starke, St. Joseph Counties)
  • Submit a maximum 400 word proposal/essay describing their past, current and future career goals/involvement in any study related to the research or protection of our native flora to be received by INPS North Chapter at president@indiananativeplants.org by September 15, 2019
  • Provide a letter of recommendation from a current instructor

Award recipients will be notified by a representative from North Chapter on October 1, 2020. Announcements of scholarship recipients will be posted on our Facebook page and in our chapter and state newsletters.

2019 Student Scholarships Awarded

In 2019 the North Chapter created the Keith Board Student Scholarships. Two scholarships were awarded – one to high school student Megan Huys and one to college student Jake Crawford. The scholarships include a one-year student membership to INPS and registration and expenses to the INPS Annual Conference. The scholarships were awarded at the conference. Congratulations Megan and Jake!

student scholarships awarded

Photo by Michael Huft

Remembering Keith Board

July 20, 1960–January 12, 2019

The Indiana and Chicago region botanical communities suffered a great loss with the passing of INPS member Keith Board.

Keith was a woodshop, drafting, and architecture teacher at Bremen High School for 31 years. He touched countless lives with his interests in woodworking, carpentry, photography, fishing, writing poetry and jokes, and of course, botany and visiting natural areas.

As a self-taught field botanist, Keith’s work was invaluable to our understanding of the flora of northern Indiana. He contributed immensely to Plants of the Chicago Region (Swink and Wilhelm 1994), and the monumental Flora of the Chicago Region (Wilhelm and Rericha 2017).

The huge void that has been left with his passing will never be filled, but with young students looking up to mentors such as Keith and knowing that the love of our natural world is enough, we will know that his work will not be forgotten.