Submit an Application

Due no later than May 10, 2012

Eligibility Requirements || Applications & Deadlines

About the Fellowship

The Paul Evan Peters Fellowship was established to honor and perpetuate the memory of Paul Evan Peters (1947-1996), founding executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). The fellowship will assist students pursuing graduate studies in the information sciences, librarianship, or closely related field, that advance the frontiers of digital information and technology. Nominees should demonstrate intellectual and personal qualities consistent with those of Paul Evan Peters, including:

• A commitment to the use of digital information and advanced technology to enhance scholarship, intellectual productivity and public life
• An interest in the civic responsibilities of information professionals, and a commitment to democratic values
• A positive and creative approach to overcoming personal, technological, and bureaucratic challenges
• Humor, vision, humanity, and imagination

The fellowship will be in the amount of $5,000 per year, to be awarded two consecutive years to a student pursuing a graduate degree in librarianship, the information sciences, or closely related field (see eligibility requirements). The award will be given every other year beginning in 2002.

The Award’s Impact: Comments and Updates from Previous Fellowship Recipients

“The characteristics that have often been associated with Paul–positivity, creativity, humor, vision, humanity, and imagination–are, I hope, dimensions that I also bring to the work that I do as a scholar and as a teacher, ” wrote Phillip M. Edwards, 2004 fellowship recipient and currently at the Center for Teaching Excellence at Virginia Commonwealth University. Edwards credits the award with helping to broaden his professional horizons as a student: “Because of this funding, I was able to travel to conferences which I would have otherwise been unable to attend, and the interactions I had among other researchers and practitioners at these gatherings have been more valuable than I could have ever imagined.”

Christopher (Cal) Lee, who received the first Peters Fellowship, is currently Associate Professor at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he teaches classes for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as continuing professional education workshops, in a variety of subjects, including archival administration, records management, digital curation, understanding information technology for managing digital collections, and the construction of digital repository rules.

Eligibility

Fellowship applicants will be judged on how well they meet the academic and personal standards for the award, not on financial need. In addition, applications must meet these criteria:

• Each applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
• Each applicant must be entering or enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program in information science or librarianship at an accredited U.S. university. Students in other, closely related disciplines may also be considered, provided that the course of study relates directly to information management/studies.
• Staff, officers, and families of the Coalition for Networked Information, the Association of Research Libraries, and EDUCAUSE are not eligible to apply.

If awarded the fellowship, recipients must complete at least 6 credit hours of course work per semester during the year(s) the fellowship is awarded. Recipients must submit an official transcript to the selection committee at the end of the first year of the award (no later than July 1), demonstrating good progress toward the graduate degree. The selection committee retains the right to terminate the award after one year if good progress is not demonstrated.

Selection Procedures

A fellowship selection committee organized by the staff of the Coalition for Networked Information will review applications in April and May. The recipient will be selected and notified of the award in June 2012.

Applications & Deadlines

Applicants should submit the following application materials electronically no later than May 10, 2012; electronic materials should be sent to cni-fellowship-2012@cni.org, unless otherwise indicated.
• A completed application form, which includes space for a 300-500-word essay explaining the applicant’s qualifications, intellectual interests, and academic and career objectives. The essay must include a discussion of how the applicant will advance scholarship in digital information and technology and apply his or her knowledge to problems of scholarship, intellectual productivity, or public life.
• A curriculum vitae or resume that includes the applicant’s complete contact information: address, phone number, and email.
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty members, work supervisors, or others who can comment on the applicant’s academic and personal qualifications for the fellowship. These letters should be sent by email directly from the recommenders’ e-mail accounts, no later than May 10.

Additionally, finalists will be notified and asked to submit:
• A copy of the student’s letter of acceptance into a university graduate program in information science or librarianship, or a closely related field (see eligibility requirements).
• Proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (a photocopy of a birth certificate, passport, or residency card).
• An official transcript may also be requested, if the applicant has already completed courses toward the graduate degree.

All materials must be sent no later than May 10, 2012.

CNI is a coalition of some 200 institutions dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity. The Coalition, which is sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and EDUCAUSE, is headquartered in Washington DC. More information about CNI is at www.cni.org/.

ARL is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at www.arl.org/.

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit membership association created to support those who lead, manage, and use information technology to benefit higher education. A comprehensive range of resources and activities is available to all EDUCAUSE members. The association’s strategic directions include focus in four areas: Teaching and Learning; Managing the Enterprise; E-Research and E-Scholarship; and the Evolving Role of IT and Leadership. For more information, visit educause.edu.