Lois (Moses) Shofer ’67
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Lois is a 1967 graduate from the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance with a degree in Physical Education. She has been a long time donor and established a scholarship fund for students coming to IC from community colleges. Lois' desire to work as an educator and helper of children began when she was a student at Ithaca College. It was there she first realized that she wanted to work with kids. "I knew I had this special skill - I could enter a room filled with children, and the kids would just come to me without my saying a word," she recalls. She further developed her rapport with children through community service work as a member of Delta Phi Zeta and her experiences as a student teacher.
Her commitment to children eventually led Lois to found the Children’s Development Clinic in 1974 in Maryland. Begun as a Saturday program offered through the Community College of Baltimore County, where Lois taught health courses, the clinic offers services to parents of children who have developmental delays or disabilities. In the 25 years Lois ran the program, more than 4,000 families and 2,000 trained volunteer clinicians completed the program, making it one of the largest and most successful volunteer efforts ever undertaken in Maryland. Lois also volunteers for the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland and is involved with the organization’s distinguished women program. She also works with Sail Baltimore, a nonprofit community service organization responsible for coordinating the city’s waterfront activities, stimulating tourism, and hosting the Inner Harbor tall ships gatherings. The long list of Lois' additional memberships and achievements includes work on the advisory board of the Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education, and the National Association of Governors Councils of Physical Fitness and Sports (now the National Association for Health and Fitness,) for which she served as the first female president from 1989 to 1990.
As part of her commitment to education, Lois gives of her time to her alma maters Ithaca College, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Maryland. She also feels strongly that community colleges have much to offer society’s increasingly diverse student population. In support of that belief, she has worked with the Ithaca College's Philanthropy and Engagement office to create a scholarship fund for community college graduates who want to continue their education at Ithaca. She also continues to promote IC by attending college nights in the Baltimore region, at which she discusses her positive experience with prospective students. "I had a good time at Ithaca College and received a good education. Now I want to give back," she says.
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