Radcliffe Starts New Fellowship Program

A $250,000 endowment has been established to provide fellowships to undergraduates for research projects using the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe officials announced earlier this month.

Five or more Carol K. Pforzheimer Student Fellowships, amounting to approximately $2500 each, will be awarded annually, Margaret B. Touborg '65, assistant to Radcliffe President Matina S. Horner, said yesterday. The first fellowships will be awarded next spring.

Schlesinger Library is one of the country's foremost libraries devoted to the lives of women and their contributions to American society. Radcliffe will award the fellowships to undergraduates--regardless of sex--who are conducting research in the Library's specialties.

Schlesinger Library's holdings specialize on topics such as the culinary arts, the history of volunteer work, women's health issues, and work and the family.

The program will be administered by a committee including the director of the library and the dean of Radcliffe.

Touborg said the fellowships are "meant to encourage scholarly work and provide support for talented young researchers." She added that in the long run, the fellowships may "generate increased interest in careers in academia."

It's Not Just For Theses

The fellowships are being "offered for research projects that perhaps a student might not take on without financial incentive," said Touborg.

Touborg said she anticipated that students will use the money to cover not only the more mundane costs of research, such as xeroxing, but also the costs of traveling to other areas of the country to continue research begun at Schlesinger. The fellowships may also eliminate the need for students to take on a summer job, allowing them to devote their vacation to research, she added.

Although "one of the main interests is stimulating thesis research," the fellowships are not intended solely for such work, Touborg said.

Fellows will have one year within which to produce a report on their work, which will usually take the form of a written thesis, Touborg said.