Wedel Nilsen of Cape Girardeau made a gift of $10,000 to establish the scholarship in memory of his wife, Dorothy Lee Nilsen. This is the first time it has been awarded. The Department of Nursing selected Blackman as the recipient.

As the recipient, Blackman was required to be a student in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Currently, Blackman is a nursing major. Blackman also was required to write a short essay describing her interest in gerontological nursing with a special emphasis on care of the frail elderly exhibiting decline in functional and cognitive abilities.

The scholarship's namesake, Nilsen, was the daughter of Henry and Cora Perkins Nicolaides. She was born in 1913 in Piggott, Ark. She married Wedel D. Nilsen in 1952 in Elmhurst, Ill. Mrs. Nilsen received a bachelor of science degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. She was a teacher 35 years at Elmhurst and Mounds, Ill., schools and wrote teachers' manuals used in elementary schools throughout the United States. She was recognized for her teaching contributions by the state of Illinois in 1973.