SCHOLARSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS

The 2009 Sir John M. Templeton Fellowship Essay Contest

 

Guidelines For Entries

Eligibility

College or university students — part-time or full-time, undergraduate or graduate, from all nations and academic disciplines — are eligible. Student applicants must be enrolled in a college or university in Fall 2009, and must be no older than 35 years of age.

Junior faculty members — must hold a position of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or higher, be not yet tenured, and 35 years or younger.

Length of Entries

College or university students —1,500 to 5,000 words.

Junior faculty members — 5,000 to 8,000 words.

Style Guidelines

The judges will look for clarity, rigor and eloquence. Papers need not be technical or demonstrate hyper-specialized scholarship, although they should be serious in content, tone and style. Papers may be footnoted, but judges aren’t looking for the paper with the most footnotes. All essays must be in English.

Judging Standards

All identifying information is removed from the essays such that they are judged blindly. Each essay is read and ranked by each of the three academicians who comprise the panel of judges. After each paper has been ranked, the judges’ results are combined to determine which papers have the highest ranking.

Benefits

In addition to the monetary prizes (see other side), the Independent Institute assists with placing the winning essays for publication in prominent journals, on websites and through other outlets. Winners may also be invited to speak at the Institute’s seminar series or another forum. Winners’ names are advertised through the Institute’s website, and in print ads appearing in prominent publications.

Further Information

The Independent Institute has published a useful reading list on this year’s theme. The official rules reading list, entry form, and further information are available on the website: www.independent.org/students/essay. You may also write for a copy of the reading list, entry form, and guidelines.

Entry Deadline and Formats

The deadline for entry is May 1, 2009. All entries must be submitted as a text file or Microsoft Word document through our website: www.independent.org/essay.

Winners will be notified in September, 2009. Winning essays become the property of the Independent Institute, which will, however, cooperate fully with the authors in their republication elsewhere.

Everglades Fellowship in Washington, DC

EVERGLADES FELLOWSHIP IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AVAILABLE 

University of Miami’s Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy is recruiting a 2009 graduate for a fellowship in Washington, D.C., for one year, beginning in August 2009. Funded by the Everglades Foundation, the recipient will be placed in a staff position on a congressional committee, or federal agency with jurisdiction over issues affecting the Everglades. The fellowship carries a stipend of $45,000 for the year. 

Applicants must be scheduled for award of a graduate degree from University of Miami in May 2009. A solid academic record is required. The recipient must attend a two-day orientation at the Abess Center in April 2009, and will be required to submit monthly reports on his/her fellowship activities during the year. 

Please send a written expression of interest and résumé by email to Andee Holzman at the Abess Center (acohen@law.miami.edu) by March 15, 2009. Please be prepared to submit a copy of your transcripts and three references, on request.

Japanese American Citizens League National Scholarships and Awards Program

 

The Japanese American Citizens League ("JACL") began its National Scholarship and Awards Program in 1946.  The program currently offers over 30 awards, with an annual total of over $60,000 in scholarships to qualified students nationwide. The National Scholarship and Awards Program offer scholarships to students at the entering freshman, undergraduate, graduate, law, financial need and creative & performing arts. All scholarships are one-time awards.  

 

Eligibility

 

Every applicant must be an active National JACL member at either an Individual or  Student/Youth Level.  Parent membership will not meet this requirement.  Applications are available on the website http://www.jacl.org/join.html. For more information about membership categories, please contact the JACL Membership Department at National Headquarters at “mbr@jacl.org”.

 

Applicants must be planning to attend full-time at a college, university, trade school, business school, or any other institution of higher learning within the United States at the undergraduate or graduate school level in the fall of 2009.  Students deferring enrollment will not qualify for the 2009 scholarship program. Applicants may apply under only 1 scholarship category. Past recipients of JACL scholarships or awards are limited to a total of two awards.

 

Application Materials

 

Only one application needs to be submitted to qualify for all awards listed in that same category. Applications will be reviewed for award preferences noted in the brochure. The following is a condensed list of supporting documents required to complete a JACL Scholarship Application:

 

JACL Membership;

Personal Statement;

Letter of Recommendation;

Official Transcripts including SAT and/or ACT test score verification;

Work Experience; and

Community Involvement.

 

Calendar

 

October 2008
Applications are available through local JACL chapters, regional offices, National JACL Headquarters & web site.

 

March 1, 2009
Entering Freshman applications must be postmarked and mailed to your local JACL chapters.  Applications must be complete and accompanied by ALL supporting documents.

 

April 1, 2009
All applications excluding Entering Freshman must be postmarked and mailed to JACL National Scholarship Committee address stated on application. Applications must be complete (3 copies) and accompanied by ALL supporting documents. 

 

July 2009
Scholarship award recipients will be notified.

 

Scholarship Categories & Descriptions - Law Scholarships

 

Thomas T. Hayashi Memorial Scholarship - The Eastern District Council in memory of Thomas Hayashi, an outstanding Nisei civil rights advocate and attorney in international law, established the award. It was Mr. Hayashi’s philosophy to encourage other Nikkei to enter the legal profession as a means of securing justice for the disadvantaged.

Sho Sato Memorial Scholarship - Sho Sato, a Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, was one of the nation’s most prominent scholars of local governmental law.  Mr. Sato was known as a leading figure in promoting relations between law schools in Japan and the United States.

Mary Reiko Osaka Memorial Scholarship – Ms. Osaka was a graduate of the University of California Hastings College of Law and was the first Asian-American woman to serve as district counsel for the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service.

Grace Andow Memorial Scholarship –Ms. Andow, a longtime member of the Cleveland Chapter, established this scholarship in her will.  She was a wedding planner who later studied to be a legal secretary.  She gave her enthusiasm, ability and volunteered almost all of her spare time to the JACL.

Langdon Fellowship in Moritz College of Law Program on Dispute Resolution 

The Langdon Fellow will be selected to begin a two-year fellowship in mid-July 2009.  The Langdon Fellow will work closely with the Moritz College of Law professors who teach in the alternative dispute resolution field, and will act as the clinical staff attorney for two mediation practica per academic year (one in the fall, one in the spring).  As clinical staff attorney, the Fellow will plan a weekend training session for students in each mediation practicum each semester.  During each semester, the Fellow will attend class sessions for the mediation practicum, facilitate discussions of issues presented in mediated cases and lecture on subjects agreed to between the professor and the Fellow.  The Fellow will also supervise students mediating at Franklin County Municipal Court or at the City of Columbus Night Prosecutor Mediation Program on afternoons and/or evenings, and identify and oversee mediation observation opportunities for practicum students.  The Fellow will assist the Faculty Director of the Program on Dispute Resolution with programmatic planning and advising dispute resolution certificate students, and will also have 10-15 hours per week to focus on his or her own research, preferably in the area of dispute resolution. During the second year of the fellowship, the Langdon Fellow may opt to teach up to three (3) credits in the dispute resolution curriculum.

A Juris Doctor degree is required, as is significant experience in mediation.  The fellowship stipend will be $45,500 annually.  The position comes with a generous benefits package. 

Applicants should send resume and cover letter detailing mediation experience to: 

Professor Sarah Cole

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

55 W. 12th Avenue

Columbus, Ohio 43210 

The may also email materials to Professor Cole at cole.228@osu.edu.

Applicants should also monitor The Ohio State University Job Postings at

https://www.jobsatosu.com/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1234904173312

and apply for the position when it is posted, which will probably be within the next couple of weeks.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Scholarship

1)  Venue:  Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ("IACHR")– Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women

Address: 1889 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006

2)  Modality:    On-site 

3)  Deadline to present applications:  March 6, 2009 

4)  Start and End Dates:    May 1, 2009 – April 30, 2010                                               

5)  Length of the Fellowship:   One (1) Year                                      

6)  Objectives:  To provide an opportunity for young lawyers from Organization of American States ("OAS") Member States to understand and apply the mechanisms of protection of the Inter-American System of Human Rights in the sphere of women’s rights. 

7) Program: a) To support the work of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women of the Inter-American Commission, under the supervision of its specialists during the period of the fellowship; and b) at the end of the fellowship, to present to the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR a detailed report on activities carried out by the fellow. 

8)  Requirements: 

·         Be a citizen of an OAS Member State;

·        Be bilingual in Spanish and English (attach certificates testifying thereto), knowledge of French or Portuguese desirable;

·         Have graduated in law from an officially recognized university (attach copy of the degree and grades obtained);

·         Have a demonstrable professional interest in the legal field of human rights, especially in the area of women’s rights;

·         Have received a university degree in law after January 1, 2002;

·         Present a paper of up to 5 pages, not edited by another person, on one or more women’s rights issues of interest to the candidate;  

9)  OAS Scholarship Selection Criteria:  In accordance with article 4.2. of the Manual of Procedures of the Scholarship and Training Programs of the OAS, OAS scholarships shall be granted based on the following criteria:

•   The objectives and priorities established in the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development;

·         The training priorities of the member states;

·         The merits and overall credentials of the candidate, including his/her academic and professional background;

·         The financial need of the candidate; and

·         An extensive and equitable geographic distribution for the benefit of all member states and that takes into account the greater needs of the smaller and relatively less developed economies.

 

10)  Benefits: 

•    The OAS provides a total stipend of US$33,600.00 for the period covered by the fellowship, that is, US$2,800.00 per month for 12 months, and round-trip economy class air transportation from the participant’s country of residence to Washington, D.C. With said stipend, the fellow is responsible for securing health insurance coverage of his/her choice, for the entire period of the fellowship, providing proof of such coverage to the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR.

·         The Commission will award a participation certificate for the Fellowship program only after the successful completion of the fellowship’s total duration period.

 

11)  Responsibilities of the Selected Candidates:

•    Once an applicant has been selected, he/she should confirm with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights his/her availability to complete the fellowship during the specified time period, and confirm his/her participation with the Department of Human Development so that the OAS may proceed with the necessary arrangements for purchase of round-trip economy class air transportation between the candidate’s home country and Washington, D.C.  

•    In the event a candidate accepts a Fellowship but cannot complete it, for whatever reason, he/she must immediately inform the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the OAS Department of Human Development so they may decide which course of action to take.

•    The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship by signing and returning to DHD their completed “form of acceptance of the scholarship award”; only after this has been done will the OAS proceed with the necessary travel arrangements to purchase the air travel tickets, economy class, round-trip, between the scholarship recipient’s country of origin and the study location.

•    Selected scholarship recipients are responsible for obtaining the necessary visa(s) to enter the country of the fellowship and the corresponding transit(s). The OAS will not be responsible for any costs related to obtaining visas or transfer documentation.  The OAS will provide the candidate a document certifying his/her selection as an official Fellow of the IACHR-OAS so that he/she may request the corresponding visa, which is the sole responsibility of the selected candidate. 

•    Each scholarship recipient is responsible for arriving in time for the commencement of activities on the date established.  

•    If the scholarship recipient fails to travel on the scheduled dates, or change routes, after the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States ("GS/OAS") has purchased his/her travel ticket, he/she will be responsible for paying the difference in ticket costs in order to arrive at the fellowship site in time. The scholarship recipient will furthermore have to reimburse the GS/OAS the total cost of the airfare for his/her travel from his/her country of residence to the site where the Professional Development fellowship will take place and back if, after the ticket has been purchased, he/she declines the fellowship without written authorization from the Department of Human Development.

•    The latter includes any additional costs, if any, incurred by the GS/OAS, such as extra costs for accommodation during the scholarship recipient’s travel to and from the country where the course will be held.

•    If the fellow declines, cancels or terminates the Scholarship after the course or program has started without giving enough proof to the OAS/GS, he or she must reimburse OAS/GS the total amount of incurred costs/expenses.  

12)  Presentation of Candidates: Please Notice:  If you were awarded an OAS Professional Development Scholarship in the past twelve (12) months, or if you currently hold an OAS Scholarship for Academic Studies, you are not eligible to apply for another Professional Development Scholarship. 

The online application form must be completed on-line and can be accessed at:  http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/onsite.aspx?culture=en&navid=282  where you will find the announcements of all the onsite courses, click in the one you are interested in, go though the end of the page, and then you’ll find the Continue button which will direct you to the online application form.

All the additional forms must be completed electronically or in typewritten format.  

Once the applicant has completed the online application form and submitted it, a copy will be sent automatically to his/her email account. This completed form must be printed, signed and submitted with all the required documentation and additional forms found in the following link:  http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/formspd.aspx?culture=en&navid=282 to the Department of Human Development at 1889 F Street NW, Washington DC 20006, before the deadline to submit applications.

The Capital City Fellows Program (3L, Recent Graduates)

CAPITAL CITY FELLOWS PROGRAM ("CCFP") DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM: 

The Office will hire 10-25 3Ls and Recent Grads (graduated within 2 years prior to October 2009) for its 2-year Capital City Fellows Program, which begins in October, 2009.  Permanent employment is possible, but not guaranteed.  In 2008, 17 Fellows were hired out of 100-150 applications; 5 were law students.  Beginning salary is $50,000, with a 4% increase in the second year.  Designed for those with an interest in administration, local government and policy development, the Fellowship offers four 6-month rotations in a variety of agencies, including the Office of City Administrator;  Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; Office of Citizen Complaint Review;  Department of Health; Department of Human Services; Metropolitan Police Department; Office of Personnel; Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; Office of Chief Financial Officer; Department of Motor Vehicles; and District Department of Transportation.  Placements are based on need, as well as skills and preferences.  In addition to on-the-job training, Fellows meet with high-level city officials, and participate in educational and professional development seminars.   

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must have a demonstrated interest in public service, minimum 3.5 GPA, capacity for leadership and future professional growth.  A connection or commitment to the District is also viewed favorably.  Within 180 days of beginning work, Fellows must become residents of the District.  U.S. citizenship is not required, but non-citizens must provide documentation of identity and employment eligibility (the Program cannot sponsor visas).    

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Submit applications between January 5th and Wednesday, April 1, 2009.  Carefully review application requirements and process on the website, as numerous documents are required, including:  application (available on line); resume (2-page maximum); 3 personal essays (topics described on website); official sealed law school transcript; 3 completed, signed, and sealed Reference Forms, including 1 academic and 1 professional reference; self-addressed, stamped postcard for notification of receipt; and optional EEO form.  Selected candidates will be contacted by mid-May for all-day, in-person interviews (consisting of individual and group interviews, and writing assessment) conducted in June.  All candidates will be notified of decisions in late June.

For additional information, please visit the website at http://dcop.dc.gov/dcop/cwp/view,a,1222,q,530470.asp.

Diversity Scholarships

There are a number of diversity scholarships available to law students. Below are some of the scholarships available.

American Indian Law Student Scholarships

Navajo Nation Graduate Trust Fund and Fellowship:
Sponsor: Navajo Nation
Description: This program is open to enrolled members of the Navajo Nation who are enrolled or planning to enroll as graduate or postgraduate students. Preference is given to applicants who are studying in fields designates as priorities on a biennial basis.
Contact: 520/871-7640
onnsfacentral@navajo.org
http://www.onnsfa.org/gradfund.asp  
Deadline: April

Asian Pacific American Law Student Scholarships

Presidential Anheuser-Busch Scholarships:
Sponsor: National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Description: This program is open to students at accredited law schools in the United States. Applicants must demonstrate leadership potential to serve the Asian Pacific American community upon graduation.
Contact: 202/626-7693
foundation@napaba.org
http://www.napaba.org
Deadline: September

Korean-American Law Student Scholarships

Korean-American Scholarship Foundation: KASF Scholarships:
Award: Not specified
Deadline: June
http://www.kasf.org/

The Olin/Searle/Smith Fellows in Law Program

The Program

The Olin/Searle/Smith Fellows in Law program will offer top young legal thinkers the opportunity to spend a year writing and developing their scholarship with the goal of entering the legal academy. Up to three fellowships will be offered for the 2009-2010 academic year.

A distinguished group of academics will select the Fellows. Criteria include:

• Dedication to teaching and scholarship
• A J.D. and extremely strong academic qualifications (such as significant clerkship or law review experience)
• Commitment to the rule of law and intellectual diversity in legal academia

• The promise of a distinguished career as a legal scholar and teacher

 

Benefits

Stipends will include $50,000 plus benefits. While details will be worked out with the specific host school for the Fellow, in general the Fellow will be provided with an office and will be included in the life of the school.

 

Applications

All those who feel they fit the criteria are encouraged to apply. Applicants should submit the following:

• A resume and law school transcript
• Academic writing sample(s) with an approximately 50-page limit
• A brief discussion of their areas of intellectual interest (approximately 2 pages)
• A statement of their commitment to teaching law
• Up to three letters of support

Applications must be received no later than March 16, 2009.
Applicants will be notified on or before April 20, 2009.

Please submit applications to:

Olin/Searle/Smith Fellows in Law Program
Eugene B. Meyer, Administrator
c/o The Federalist Society
1015 18th Street, N.W., Suite 425
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 822-8138

Or send an email to ebmeyer@fed-soc.org with "Olin/Searle/Smith Fellowship" in the subject line.