Susan Lipschutz, Margaret Ayers Host, and Anna Olcott Smith Awards for Rackham Graduate Students
The Susan Lipschutz Fund for Women Graduate Students was established to honor the memory of Dr. Susan Lipschutz, former Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. Many people in the university community esteemed Susan Lipschutz as a valued colleague, mentor, and friend, and as an advocate committed to the support of women students as they pursued their doctoral degrees. The Susan Lipschutz Fund recognizes and supports promising women scholars.
Margaret Ayers Host received a Rackham degree in 1942. She studied at Oxford, was President of the Alumni Association, Chair of the Alumnae Council, member of the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics, and a member of the Rackham Board of Governors. The Margaret Ayers Host Award was established to honor her remarkable contributions as a woman scholar and to the University of Michigan community.
Ella Smith Avery made a gift in 1938 in order to honor the memory of her mother and to support women graduate students at the University of Michigan. According to the terms of the gift, the Anna Olcott Smith Fellowship Endowment is intended to aid women graduate students who show “promise of the development of useful original ideas.”
Eligibility
Any Rackham doctoral program may nominate only one student for the combined competition. Nominees must be women actively pursuing a doctoral degree who have achieved candidacy by the application deadline. Students may receive this award only one time.
Selection Criteria
Award recipients will have demonstrated exceptional scholarly achievement, a sense of social responsibility, and an interest in the success of women in the academic community.
Deadline
January 9, 2024
Award Description
At least six $8,500 awards will be made for spring/summer support. Based on the availability of funds, additional awards may be made during the competition process. For students who qualify for need-based financial aid (including the child care subsidy), receipt of this Rackham award may reduce the original loan amount or subsidy. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for help evaluating your individual circumstance.
Nomination Process
Students in a Rackham doctoral program must be nominated by their program for this award. Please contact your program regarding its nomination procedures.
Graduate programs may nominate students by submitting an online nomination form which includes the following:
- Statement of Student’s Achievement and Potential (a brief, up to 1,500 word statement from the graduate program chair regarding the qualifications of the nominee for the award and the selection process)
- Personal statement from the applicant describing her research, future goals, and contributions to the success of women in the academic community (up to 1,500 words);
- Letter of recommendation from the applicant’s faculty advisor noting her achievement and promise;
- Student’s curriculum vitae (c.v.).