Awards and Fellowships
Each year Women's and Gender Studies awards a variety of scholarships and awards for teaching, scholarship, and research to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty in Women's and Gender Studies.
Undergraduate Program Awards
Arney Robinson Childs Student Award
Dr. Childs was a pioneer and public servant in many ways-a truly distinguished individual in South Carolina history. She was principal of Logan Grammar School, one of the first women in the state to be given such a responsibility. She was U.S.C. Dean of Women from 1935 - 1960. She was a member of the Board of State Industrial Schools, Vice President of the South Carolina Mental Health Association, member of the Columbia Planning Commission, member of the State National Youth Administration Board, member of the National Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Armed Services and the State USO Board. After retiring from U.S.C. she taught history at Columbia College and helped develop the South Carolina history course for South Carolina ETV. She died April 1987 at the age of 96. Family and friends established this award to celebrate her rich and generous life. Women's and Gender Studies faculty nominate students for this award. Nominees should be seniors with a major or minor in Women's and Gender Studies, a record of extraordinary achievement and contributions to Women's and Gender Studies classes, and exemplary commitment to women's issues on campus or in the community. The $250 award is presented at the U.S.C. awards ceremony in April each year. Women's and Gender Studies faculty should send the name of the student and a hard copy and an electronic copy (put "Childs Award" in the subject line) of a detailed letter of nomination to Dr. Catherine J. Castner. Nominations deadline: February 24, 2012.
Graduate Program Awards
Harriott Hampton Faucette
Harriott Hampton Faucette helped to establish the Women's Studies Endowment Fund through an early generous gift. Faucette is known as a Columbia area journalist and has covered women faculty at U.S.C., which made her more aware of how women often have been marginalized in higher education. "I thought Women's Studies would be an important move in the right direction," she said. "Women have been given a secondary place in academics and that's really not fair. I want to help in making everyone aware of the true part women have played in history, in the arts and in science. And while so much money has gone into other areas, this academic area needs to be a higher priority." This award is designed to assist Women's and Gender Studies Graduate Certificate students and students currently enrolled in Women's and Gender Studies Graduate Certificate courses with research and professional development. Research should be consistent with the research mission of Women's and Gender Studies to reconceptualize knowledge, create new knowledge, and/or reinterpret existing knowledge about women and other underrepresented groups and their experiences through the lens of gender and the prism of diversity. The maximum award is $500 and can be used for travel, books, supplies, and/or equipment. At least two awards are made each year.
For information on how to apply, see current application form (pdf). Spring application deadline: Feb. 15, 2012
Fall 2011 Harriet Hampton Faucette Winners:
Jean Marie Place: " Situated Knowledge: Understanding Post-partum Depression
from Mexican Women's Perspective"
Christiane Steckenbiller: "Putting Place back into Displacement: Space and Place in Recent Migrants' Literature"
Spring 2010 Harriet Hampton Faucette Winner:
Charis Davidson: “Research into Family Planning in Belize”
Fall 2009 Harriet Hampton Faucette Winners:
Stacey Haney: “Split Consciousness: The Post-Gendered Body in Trans-Colonial Times”
Annie Boiter-Jolley: “National Council of Women’s Organization’s Voter Outreach through the Church Ladies Project”
Emily Thompson Student Award
This award was established within the Women's Studies Endowment by friends and family of Emily Thompson after her untimely death in the Spring of 1988. She had recently completed her master's in public health. This award is for the best graduate student research paper or project focusing on some aspect of women's health. A panel of faculty selects the project they believe makes the greatest impact on our knowledge of women's health. The entry may have originated at any time in 2011, and the graduate student must be currently enrolled at USC at the time of the award. The $250 award is presented at the U.S.C. Awards Ceremony in April each year.
For information on how to apply, see current application form (pdf).
Proposal deadline: February 20, 2012.
2011 Emily Thompson Winner:
Alexis Koskan:
"Program Planners' Conceptualization of Sustainability for Promotora-led Health Outreach"
2010 Emily Thompson Winners:
Sasikumar Balasundaram: The Structural Violence of Sterilization: Politics of Sterilization in the Plantation Tamil Communities of Sri Lanka Sarah Kershner: “South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy”
Dr. Mary Baskin Waters Doctoral Student Enhancement Award in Social Work and Women's Studies & Gender Studies
University of South Carolina College of Social Work seeks doctoral students who plan to seek a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies at USC. Each year, an eligible doctoral student is selected to receive the Dr. Mary Baskin Waters Doctoral Student Enhancement Award in Social Work and Women’s Studies & Gender Studies. Any social work doctoral student who meets the following criteria may apply: Enrolled as a student in the social work doctoral program; Enrolled in or planning to enroll in the USC certificate program in women’s and gender studies; Making satisfactory academic progress. The fellowship award is $1,000 per academic semester. After admission to the doctoral program, the interested student should submit a letter explaining her/his interest in the award, attach a current resume, and submit to: Director, Doctoral Program College of Social Work University of South Carolina Columbia SC 29208 Electronic submissions are acceptable and may be submitted to Arlene.andrews@sc.edu Award recommendations will be made by the College of Social Work Fellowship Committee to the Dean of the College and the Director of the USC Women’s and Gender Studies Program.
Women's and Gender Studies Teaching Award
This award was established to recognize outstanding teaching in undergraduate and graduate courses of the Women's and Gender Studies Program. Nominees must have taught at least one undergraduate or graduate WGST (or WGST cross-listed) course within one semester of the time of nomination, have demonstrated a history of effective and sustained integration of race, class, gender, and sexuality issues into course materials and requirements, shown evidence of providing guidance and inspiration to undergraduate and graduate students beyond the classroom, and shown evidence of positive student and peer response through student and peer evaluations. A $1,000 award will be presented to a faculty member, staff member, or adjunct faculty and a $250 award will be presented to a graduate student. Nominations (which may be self-nominations) will be sought from students and faculty members on all USC campuses offering WGST courses. Nominees will be asked to provide copies of student evaluations, peer evaluations, and course syllabi. The Women's and Gender Studies Undergraduate and Graduate Committees will serve as the Selection Committee. A hard copy and an electronic copy (put "Teaching Award" in the subject line) of the nomination letter outlining the reasons the nominee is deserving of the award should be sent to Dr. Drucilla K. Barker, Director, Women's and Gender Studies Program, Jones Physical Science Center, Suite 109, 712 Main Street, Columbia, SC, 29208. Nominations deadline: February 20, 2012.
Faculty Research Awards
Josephine Abney Faculty Fellowship Award
Designed to encourage cutting edge research that is solidly grounded in women's and gender studies perspectives. Proposals are invited which are consistent with the research mission of Women's and Gender Studies to reconceptualize knowledge, create new knowledge, and/or reinterpret existing knowledge about women and other underrepresented groups and their experiences through the lens of gender and the prism of diversity. The research should be interdisciplinary in nature or have interdisciplinary implications and should reflect a commitment to improving the status of women and other underrepresented groups. This fellowship is open to any full-time, permanent faculty or professional staff member within the U.S.C. system. Selections are made by a Women's and Gender Studies committee. The $5,000 award may be received as salary or used for research expenses. Funds must be spent by the end of the fiscal year following receipt of award, and must follow university policy. The recipient must deliver an oral presentation of the results at the Women's and Gender Studies System-wide Conference in March 2013 following the award. Any publications that result from this work should contain an acknowledgment such as "This work is partially supported by the Josephine Abney Faculty Fellowship for Research in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina." Applications Deadline: November 30, 2011 Abney Application Form [pdf]
Carol Jones Carlisle Faculty Award
The Carol Jones Carlisle Award in Women's Studies was created by friends, colleagues, family, and students of Dr. Carlisle who taught at U.S.C. for nearly 40 years. She now is an English Professor Emeritus and internationally known as an important Shakespeare scholar. She is the noted author of a book-length biography of Helen Faucit, the great Shakespearean actress of the 19th century. Dr. Carlisle was one of the first women at U.S.C. to achieve the rank of full professor, and she was the first faculty member in the history of the English Department to achieve that rank. This award is designed to assist faculty and professional staff in the conduct of women-centered research which is consistent with the research mission of Women's and Gender Studies to reconceptualize knowledge, create new knowledge, and/or reinterpret existing knowledge about women and their experiences through the lens of gender and the prism of diversity. This fellowship is open to any full-time, permanent faculty or professional staff member within the U.S.C. system. The $1,000 award can be used for travel, software, books, supplies, and/or equipment. Funds must be spent by the end of the fiscal year following receipt of award, and must follow university policy. Proposals will consist of a one-page description of the research, the relationship of the research to the mission of Women's and Gender Studies, an itemized budget of expenses this award will cover, and a one-page curriculum vita/resume. Submit a hard copy and an electronic copy (put "Carlisle Award" in the subject line) of proposals to: Dr. Drucilla K. Barker, Director Women's and Gender Studies University of South Carolina Jones Physical Science Center, Suite 109 712 Main Street Columbia, SC 29208