Fellowship: Application Information

Desired Characteristics

In assisting MSU achieve its educational mission, the goal of the Frank B. Martin CUMREC Fellowship is to foster an intellectually vital and diverse educational community that will prepare graduate students to assume their professional roles in a diverse society that is increasingly dependent upon information technology. We are particularly aware of the special role that Information Technology graduate education plays in training the next generation of leaders in academia and higher education.

To support that role, the Frank B. Martin CUMREC Fellowship assists departments and programs in attracting a cohort of students who:

• Articulate career plans that involve administrative computing in higher education
• Have demonstrated academic excellence
• Articulate their commitment to research goals well matched to department or program emphasis areas in information technology
• Show evidence of leadership potential or of the capacity to make a distinctive professional or scholarly contribution
• Contribute to a diverse educational community, as evidenced in personal history and experience, research goals, or the promotion of understanding among persons of different backgrounds and ideas
• Have demonstrated a record of overcoming obstacles
• Have different racial, ethnic, gender and disciplinary backgrounds

Eligibility and Qualifications

Departments, programs and colleges may nominate students whom they have admitted for a graduate program, who have demonstrated commitment to graduate study at MSU, and whose files demonstrate some combination of the characteristics listed above. Students must be nominated by their colleges for these awards during the January/February admissions process. The recipients shall be enrolled in a recognized graduate program at MSU that focuses on computer and technological studies. If awards are not made at the application stage, continuing students may be nominated.

Availability

The Frank B. Martin CUMREC Fellowship funds are available annually to the thirteen colleges with graduate programs at Michigan State University.

Nomination Form

The University Fellowships Nomination Form is available for departments to download from the following Web address: http://www.msu.edu/user/gradschl/forms/ufellowsnom.xls (Microsoft Excel)

Selection Process

Colleges will send nominations for the Frank B. Martin CUMREC Fellowship to the Graduate School by January 31. Strong letters from departments explaining the fit of the applicant to their specific program and faculty will assist the fellowship selection committee's evaluations of the files. The first round of fellowship offers will be made no later than the beginning of March.

The coordinator of the fellowships and the Dean of the Graduate School will make early offers to the most outstanding candidates in the pool. All other files will be circulated to the University Fellowship Selection Advisory Committee, composed of faculty representing participating colleges.
Each candidate will be evaluated on his/her: 1) academic excellence; 2) articulated research goals and their match to those of the department or program to which s/he has applied; 3) leadership potential; 4) contribution to a diverse educational community; 5) record of overcoming obstacles. Students may receive only one of the awards.
After meeting with the committee to discuss the rankings, the fellowship coordinator and the Dean of the Graduate School will make the rest of the first round offers. The number of fellowship slots may vary, depending on how many strong candidates emerge in each group in a given year. If awards are not made at the application stage, continuing students may be nominated.

Financial Support

Frank B. Martin CUMREC Fellowship recipients beginning study in 2006-2007 will receive a 12-month stipend of three to five thousand dollars.

Final Selection

The selection of Fellowship winners is made by the Graduate School. The Graduate School sets the conditions and application procedures and notifies the college and department of the winners. The Graduate School posts an annual report of the recipients and other award-related information online. The Fellowship awards are dispensed by the Graduate School.

Award Process

The Fellowship will be awarded to qualified applicants based on selections made by MSU’s Graduate School. Recipients are normally selected during the Spring semester, with awards to be effective the following academic year. The number of awards made in a given year and the amount of the awards will be based upon available Expendable Amounts in that year. Generally, awards are credited during the tuition payment process.

Notification to Recipients

The Graduate School notifies qualified nominees by letter if they have been awarded an MSU-funded fellowship. Generally, notification is sent at the end of March.

Post-Award Recipient Requirements and Expectations

MSU will request each Fellowship recipient to express acceptance and appreciation of the award in writing within six weeks of notification of the award, by correspondence addressed to The Graduate School, 116 Linton Hall, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI, 48824 or such other persons or at such other addresses as the Donor may request in writing from time to time. Additionally, MSU requests that an electronic copy of such correspondence that is suitable for upload to a Web site be submitted via e-mail attachment to the following address: pavick@msu.edu. Fellowship and recipient information is updated annually on this web site.

Fellows must maintain strong academic performance and make normal progress toward their degrees.
Recipients must agree to obtain their graduate degree within six years of receiving the fellowship, and submit an annual progress report during the fellowship period.

The award reverts to a loan and must be paid back if the recipient does not follow these qualifications.

Administration

The Office of the Provost is responsible for stewardship of Endowment expenditures in perpetuity, exercising oversight and making any necessary administrative adjustments to assure that Endowment funds are properly expended.

The Endowment is governed by MSU’s policies generally applicable to its endowments, as amended from time to time, and the laws of the State of Michigan.

The Graduate School at MSU is responsible for publicizing the existence of this fellowship, accepting and reviewing fellowship applications, selecting qualified fellowship recipients and otherwise administering Endowment expenditures. The head of the Graduate School shall determine the number and amount of awards and shall select fellowship recipients in accordance with MSU procedures, terms and requirements listed in the Frank B. Martin CUMREC Fellowship Endowment Agreement.

If in a given fiscal year, the Graduate School wishes any unexpended funds to be held for expenditure in a subsequent fiscal year, they will so notify the Office of Investments and Financial Management in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to the close of that fiscal year; in the absence of such notice, any unexpended funds will revert to the Endowment at the end of that fiscal year.

For More Information, Contact:

Students may request additional information at any time by contacting:
The Graduate School
116 Linton Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48823
517.353.3262