Alma Exley was a dedicated, caring educator who worked at the Connecticut State Department of Education to increase racial diversity in the teaching profession. She was committed to helping students and future teachers overcome the effects of discrimination, and she was convinced that all students benefit from having teachers who are persons of color. After her death in 1995, the Exley family established a program to carry on Alma’s work of promoting diversity in the teaching profession by awarding scholarships for traditional college students and stipends to teachers certified through the Alternate Route to Certification program of the Connecticut Department of Higher Education.