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Center for Women's Studies

Awards and Scholarships

 

Carrie Koeturius Scholarship for Returning Women Students - "Carrie" scholarships were first endowed in 1987. They help women who have interrupted their education (undergraduate degrees). The award's namesake, Carrie Koeturius, is a former Morgantown activist for women's issues who came to WVU to finish her bachelor's degree in social work. She currently enjoys great success as a conference/event organizer.

Awards: Two scholarships of $2,000 each.

Eligibility: Women enrolled full or part-time in any WVU undergraduate academic program whose college education has been interrupted for a total of 2 years or who entered college 5 years after high school.

Selection: Demonstrated interest in using college education to help other women, academic potential and financial need. Preference given to WV residents, single parents and full-time students.

You may download the application form in pdf or Word format.

The application deadline for this award is March 3, 2008, 4 p.m

 

The Sallie Lowther Norris Showalter Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Related Disciplines - Recognizes an undergraduate woman who demonstrates high mathematical/scientific achievement and commitment to social justice. One of the first ten women admitted to WVU in 1889, Sallie won the freshman math prize in 1890 and spoke eloquently for women's right to higher education.

Awards: One award of $1,500.

Eligibility: Women enrolled in any WVU undergraduate academic program.

Selection: High achievement in mathematics or mathematics-related study and commitment to women's/social justice issues.

You may download the application form in pdf or Word format.

The application deadline for this award is March 3, 2008, 4 p.m.

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The Winifred South Knutti Graduate Scholarship in Women's Studies - Supports graduate work in women's studies and honors the first woman to receive a graduate degree (1889) at WVU. Funded by the WVU Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund, it celebrates the first century of women's education at WVU, and the centenary goal of excellence through equity.

Awards: One $1,000 award.

Eligibility: Women and men currently enrolled in good standing in any WVU graduate program. Must be WV resident (i.e. qualify for in-state tuition) and document financial need.

Selection: Graduate course work in women's studies and/or research that reflects current women's studies scholarship.

You may download the application form in pdf or Word format.

The application deadline for this award is March 3, 2008, 4 p.m.

The Velma Miller/West Virginia Alliance for Women's Studies Graduate Scholar Award - Supports graduate work in women's studies and honors Velma M. Miller (1907-1996), a founding board member of the West Virginia Alliance for Women's Studies. A leader in community service, service to women, business, and political reform, Miller was active in local and state affairs for over fifty years. Her good counsel and irrepressible wit inspired and encouraged those privileged to work with her in community service, service to women, business, and political reform for over one-half century.

A native of Pisgah, Preston County, West Virginia, Velma Miller grew up and spent her life in Morgantown, West Virginia. In 1954 she led the successful campaign to open jury service to women in West Virginia. A member of the National Society of Interior Designers, she served as president of the Morgantown Business and Professional Women's Club and county Visiting Homemakers Service and Family Service Association. Velma Miller was the first woman to head the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce and the first woman to be recognized for Outstanding Community Service by the Chamber. Her community and organizational service included work with the United Way, the American Lung Association, Beta Sigma Phi, Newcomers Club of Morgantown, area hospitals, and the Wesley United Methodist Church.Although not herself able to graduate from college, Velma Miller treasured education and was deeply interested in expanding educational opportunities for women and promoting education about women. This scholarship recognizes the important role women's studies learning plays in the development of women who like Velma Miller, are leaders who demonstrate pragmatism, vision, and love of learning.
Award: One award of $1,000
Eligibility: Candidates for the Velma M. Miller Women's Studies Graduate Scholar Award must be women who have been accepted into a post-baccalaureate degree program at West Virginia University in Morgantown; are enrolled for a minimum of 9 graduate credits in the semester during which the award is made; and have a graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Candidates must be nominated by university faculty and/or staff and their course work and/or thesis must have significant women's studies content.
Selection: Successful candidates must demonstrate marked leadership ability and/or show unusual promise as disciplinary/career/or community leaders who are committed to social justice.
You may download the application form in pdf or Word format.
The application deadline for this award is March 3, 2008, 4 p.m.

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Alma and Claude Rowe Excellence Through Equity Award - The Rowe award recognizes and stimulates teaching, scholarship, and community service which increase access to education in Appalachia. It was endowed in 1991 by Eldridge and Rosaline Rowe and their son Larry Rowe on the occasion of the WVU Women's Centenary, the celebration of one hundred years of women's education at West Virginia University. The award honors the memory of Eldridge's parents and Larry's grandparents, Alma and Claude Rowe. The Rowes recognized the positive role that higher education could play in the lives of individuals, families and communities. Their legacy of treasuring and appreciating education lives through the generations which succeeded them and is reflected in this award. Funding from this award has been used in the past to support Mom's Turn to Learn Day.

Minimum award: $500
Eligibility: Women and men involved in teaching, research, or community service which increases access to education in Appalachia. Recipients need not be associated with West Virginia University. Award most often given for completed research (professional or graduate-level) or successful ongoing educational programs such as GED completion or college-readiness skills training, but may be given for a work or project in progress.
Selection: Applicants' work must reflect sensitivity to gender and related equity issues.
Areas of activity applicable to this award include:

  • Increasing college attendance and graduation, especially for first-generation college students. Increasing the success of girls and minorities in science, math ,and other "non-traditional" areas. Developing gender, race, and culture-sensitive curriculum materials and teaching strategies.
  • Promoting successful completion of high school or the GED.

Deadline: Applications may be submitted at any time.
For more information, contact the Center for Women's Studies at wmst@mail.as.wvu.edu

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Judith Gold Stitzel Endowment for Excellence in Women's Studies Teaching and Learning - Founded in 1998 and the first WVU fund created by a faculty member to continue her/his work after retirement, this endowment fosters the creation of new, and enrichment of existing, courses. It will lead, as well, to the creation of a professorship in women's studies. The endowment was established to ensure a continuing and vital presence for women's studies as an academic discipline at WVU. Therefore, the endowment supports women's studies teaching and learning which is sensitive to gender and which places women's concerns, ideas, perspectives, and interests as much at the center of the scholarly and teaching enterprise as men's have been.

The intent of the endowment is educative and transformative. The goals are 1) to make permanently available to the University community, and through that community to West Virginia citizens, the new and expanding knowledge which women's studies scholarship creates and 2) to institutionalize women's studies knowledge into the fabric of teaching at WVU. Therefore, endowment resources will be used to recognize, support, and strengthen faculty members in their work as educators, particularly those on the Morgantown campus of WVU, but also applicants and those invited or recruited to WVU from other institutions. In all cases, teaching and learning activities supported by this endowment must be designed to increase women's studies knowledge at WVU.
Eligible Activities:
Examples include, but are not limited to, designing new courses and reconceptualizing existing courses and course modules; instruction may be in traditional classroom settings or via electronic media. Project proposals which do not directly affect student learning, e.g., faculty curriculum workshops, are eligible when they support the goals of the endowment. One proposal will be funded for a maximum amount of $4,000. For more information on eligibility and on past Stitzel Endowment projects, see this page.

The application deadline for this award is March 3, 2008, 4 p.m.

You may download the application form in pdf or Word format

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PROGRAM DEVELOPMENTProgram funds and endowments support women's studies teaching, research, and service activities and interests across WVU and the state. They are invaluable to the Center's continued growth and sustain outreach initiatives.

Judy Mossburg Fund for Student, Faculty and Staff Development - Founded in 1992 to honor a much-beloved Center office manager, the Mossburg fund assists faculty associates, staff, and students with their professional and women's studies development across the campus. Awards vary.
You may download the application form in pdf or Word format.
Applications may be submitted at any time.

Elaine K. Ginsberg Graduate Student Enrichment Fund- The fund was established in 2006 by Dr. Elaine Ginsberg, one of the original faculty members in the Women's Studies Program. This fund provides assistance to graduate students affiliated with the Department of English and the Center for Women's Studies who wish to attend academic conferences. The associate dean for research and graduate studies in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences administers this fund, will the chair of the Department of English and the director of the Center for Women's Studies endorse the applications. For more information or to apply, contact the WVU Center for Women's Studies, 218 Eiesland Hall, PO Box 6450, Morgantown, WV 26506-6450, (304) 293-2339 phone, (304) 293-3041 fax. Email: wmst@mail.as.wvu.edu

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Women's Studies Senior and Outstanding Women's Studies Teaching Assistant Awards - Given through the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences for exemplary work, with cash awards given through the Center for Women's Studies, following the tradition set by the West Virginia Alliance for Women's Studies in the mid-1990s. Recipients of these awards are selected by Center for Women's Studies faculty; no application or nomination form is available.

Women's Studies Difference Fund - The fund provides discretionary funds, primarily, to enhance the recruitment and the retention of teaching assistants for WMST 170 (the women's studies introductory course) and WMST 150 (Women In Movies), which are taken by more than 500 students each semester. This fund also enables undergraduate and graduate students to take advantage of student enrichment activities (field trips, internships, study abroad, workshop attendance, research, presentation of work) which would otherwise be impossible.
You may download the application form in pdf or Word format.
Applications may be submitted at any time.
If you have further questions or need assistance with the application process, contact the WVU Center for Women's Studies, 218 Eiesland Hall, PO Box 6450, Morgantown, WV 26506-6450, (304) 293-2339 phone, (304) 293-3041 fax. Email: wmst@mail.as.wvu.edu

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS IN WOMEN'S STUDIES

The WVU Center for Women's Studies is an academic unit in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences with a university-wide mission to coordinate interdisciplinary teaching and research on women and gender. The Center offers both a major and a minor in women's studies to undergraduates. Graduate students may earn the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (M.A.L.S.) with an emphasis in women's studies or a graduate certificate in women’s studies. GTA applicants may be graduate students in any discipline. Previous GTAs, for example, have come from English, Social Work, Counseling, History, Education, Public Health, Public Administration, Law, Art, and the Women’s Studies-Directed Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program.

DATES OF EMPLOYMENT: Academic Year 2008-2009.
STIPEND: Master's Student $9,100
Doctoral Student $9,300

Recipients will also receive a tuition waiver and hospitalization insurance. The Center for Women’s Studies will provide some additional financial support for GTAs to enhance their educational development through our Women’s Studies Difference Fund.

DUTIES: Teach one or two sections of WMST 170 Introduction to Women's Studies in each semester as part of the teaching team; one GTA will also assist with other undergraduate courses. GTAs will attend an orientation session with Dr. J. Kasi Jackson, the teaching team leader, in August, before classes start. GTAs will have full responsibility for sections of WMST 170, including grading exams and papers, consulting with students on their writing and projects, and participating in weekly teaching meetings with Dr. Jackson.

QUALIFICATIONS: BA degree in any field; some graduate work preferred. Previous research and/or community experience in women's studies and current research and/or course work on women or gender are preferred. Teaching experience is strongly preferred. The Center for Women's Studies values inclusiveness and diversity in the public it serves and on its staff. Nontraditional and minority candidates are encouraged to apply. Students must be full-time degree candidates to qualify as GTAs, and must register for the teaching practicum.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Application forms are available from the WVU Center for Women's Studies, or you may download the application form in pdf or Word format.

The deadline for receipt of the application in the Center for Women's Studies is Monday, March 3, 2008, 4 p.m.