The scholarship will be awarded to a student pursuing a major within the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Recreation with a minimum 3.5 GPA and has 60 or more cumulative credit hours. The Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Recreation Scholarship Committee will select the recipient.

This scholarship fund, previously known as the Health, Human Performance and Recreation Scholarship, was originally started with the intent of endowing a fund to provide scholarship opportunities to students across the department. It has now been endowed, thanks to two major contributions which put the fund over the amount required for endowment. At the request of the donors, the scholarship has been renamed the Dr. Jeremy Barnes Scholarship.

Barnes is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Recreation and director of the Southeast Prevention Resource Center. He started teaching at Southeast in 1996. In addition to being a popular and enthusiastic educator, Barnes is a recognized leader within the University and Cape Girardeau communities.