Student Fellowships
Comegys Bight Fellows Program
The Comegys Bight Fellows Program recognizes intellect, curiosity, and resourcefulness in Washington College students by supporting self-designed summer research projects that illuminate aspects of the American experience.
Students enrolled in the fellows program could have the opportunity to:
- Travel to New Mexico to study Georgia O'Keefe's representation of American Indians
- Spend a summer in Paris and Philadelphia investigating Benjamin Franklin's role as French ambassador
- Study the rise of the Federal Reserve and the modern financial system in Washington DC and New York
- Read the private papers of T.S. Eliot at Harvard's Widener Library
About the Fellowship
Comegys Bight is a two-mile body of water along the Chester River surrounded by farms and woodlands. The place has a rich history. For four hundred years, Algonquin Indians and Quakers, freed slaves and gentlemen farmers, among others have left their traces on these local lands. Today, Georgian homes and wind-battered goose blinds convey a sense of this heritage to keen-eyed onlookers.
The Comegys Bight Fellows Program is designed to enable several talented Washington College students to conduct a serious investigation into the American past each summer. The Program was established in 2003 with a gift from Drs. Thomas and Virginia Collier, Comegys Bight residents for more than twenty years. Each year grants up to $3000 are awarded to support an in-depth summer research project on a topic pertaining to American history or culture.
By uniting students from many disciplines, the fellowship seeks to foster an awareness of the American past in its fullness and complexity as the common experience of artists, businessmen, economists, philosophers, poets, laborers, and statesmen.
A Comegys Bight Fellow might choose to spend the summer in Florida, studying Ted Williams's philosophy of fishing. Or, he might participate in a local archaeologist's marine excavation of an Eastern Shore river. Past fellows have studied topics ranging from the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery Alabama to the Civil War history of Franklin County, Tennessee.
But this is more than a research grant. It is designed as a bridge between Washington College and the local Chestertown community. Throughout their projects, Comegys Bight Fellows will have access to resources at the CV Starr Center for as well as to past Comegys Bight Fellows. In the fall, students will submit a final report and present their findings to the Chestertown community at a celebratory gathering
Eligibility
Sophomores and juniors are encouraged to apply from pertinent Washington College departments. The prerequisite is that research proposals relate to the American past. Preference will be given to juniors interested in writing honors theses.
**Students with topics relating to local, Eastern Shore or Maryland history are strongly encouraged to apply.
The Selection Committee looks for:
- Exceptional ability and commitment, demonstrated intellectual appetite, and resourcefulness.
- Thoughtfulness and detail of research proposal.
Demonstrated academic success, while important, is less essential to the selection committee than student initiative and zeal for the research proposal.
Applications are due on March 10, 2006.
Application
- Complete Basic Application Form (PDF)
- Personal Statement and Fellowship Research Proposal In approximately 1000 words (typed, double spaced), describe the fellowship experience you propose and cite evidence for why you believe you should be selected as a Fellow. Please also list, if applicable, any contacts you have with institutions or individuals in your place of research.
- Budget. Please outline your anticipated budget. Wherever possible, these should be actual expenses rather than estimates.
- Give a copy of your application to two individuals in a position to assess your ability, promise, and research proposal in a letter of recommendation.
- Briefly list up to five of your most meaningful academic or extracurricular activities as well as your personal hobbies.
Contact
For more information about the Comegys Bight Fellows Program, please contact:
Adam Goodheart, Director of the C.V. Starr Center
Phone: 410-810-7166
E-mail: (agoodheart2@washcoll.edu)
The Frederick Douglass Fellowships
Now in their third year, the Frederick Douglass Fellowships continue to support work in African-American studies and related areas. The author, activist, and diplomat Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), for whom the fellowships were named, was born in Talbot County, Md., about 30 miles south of Chestertown, and retained a deep attachment to the Eastern Shore until the end of his life.
The Douglass Fellowships were established through a generous gift from Maurice Meslans and Margaret Holyfield of St. Louis. They will fund an annual grant of up to $1500 to a sophomore or junior at Washington College to work on a research project related to African-American studies. Topics pertaining to—in the words of the donors—other "minority American" fields (Asian-American studies, gay and lesbian studies, Latino studies, et al.) will also be considered. The grants will allow students to take research trips, purchase books, and work on their projects in lieu of part-time jobs; each recipient will be paired with a faculty mentor who will help to guide him or her in the project. The faculty mentor will receive an honorarium of $500. Applications are now being accepted for the spring term of 2007. Download PDF application.
In addition, the fellowships will fund short residencies at the Starr Center by scholars and artists in the field, who will teach and lecture during their stay. The first of these Frederick Douglass Fellows, musician and teacher Marlon Saunders, was in residence from March 12th through March 19th, 2005. A Kent County native who now lives in New York City, Saunders has toured internationally and recorded with such artists as Sting, Bobby McFerrin, and Dianne Reeves; his solo debut album, "Enter My Mind," was released in 2003 and rated "exceptional" by Vibe magazine. His music blends soul, gospel, and jazz traditions with the rhythms of hip-hop.
Saunders, who is also a professor of voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston, has composed a three-part suite that will evoke, through music and words, the African-American heritage of Kent County. During his weeklong stay on campus, Saunders worked on the project, met informally with students, and spoke about his work as a composer and performer at a reception in his honor.
Application guidelines for student fellowships
- A brief proposal (1-2 pages) describing a research project you would like to pursue in an area of African-American studies (ranging from history, politics, and sociology to art, literature, and music, and beyond). Topics pertaining to—in the words of the donors—other "minority American" fields (Asian-American studies, gay and lesbian studies, Latino studies) will also be considered. Examples of possible topics: "Free Black Communities in 19th-Century Kent County," "African-American Voting Patterns in the 2004 Election," "Jazz and the Art of Romare Bearden." You should briefly describe:
- A proposed budget. Note: You are allowed to use the fellowship money to replace income you would otherwise earn from a part-time job during the semester. Other uses of the money might include books or travel expenses for research trips.
- The name of a faculty member who would help to guide your project. You should plan to meet with your mentor once every week or two. Your application must be signed by the proposed faculty supervisor.
- A brief list of up to five of your most meaningful academic or extracurricular activities, as well as personal hobbies, should also be included.
a. why you are interested in your chosen topic
b. a few questions you hope to answer
c. what type of research you plan to conduct
***Deadline: Friday, November 17, 2006. Applications should be submitted to the C.V. Starr Center mailbox in the William Smith Hall faculty room.***
If you have any questions about the Douglass Fellowships, please contact Adam Goodheart(agoodheart2@washcoll.edu), or Jenifer Endicott, Center Coordinator (jendicott2@washcoll.edu).