Leading the Way

About

Universities and colleges across the country are creating offices to support students as they apply for nationally competitive awards. The competition is fierce. Each year more than 1,200 applicants compete for thirty-two Rhodes Scholarships and an equal number compete for forty Marshall Scholarships. Thousands more apply for Gates, Mitchell, Truman, Goldwater, Udall, Fulbright, NSF, NIH, Jack Kent Cooke, and other prestigious awards.

Here are eleven essays addressing various aspects of the application process: building an office, engaging students in research, connecting them to internships and other special opportunities, embracing diversity, defining leadership, involving faculty, and preparing for an interview. There are also realistic assessments of the odds of winning a scholarship. Three of the essays are by directors or presidents of the Ron Brown Scholar Program, the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute, and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. The essays are a result of the National Association of Fellowships Advisors conference, NAFA in Washington: Scholarships in a National Context, held in Washington, D.C., in July of 2007. The collection is a valuable resource for faculty, advisors, and administrators who want to provide opportunities for student engagement and to use the process to help shape tomorrow’s leaders. The book also includes two appendices: “NAFA Foundation and Institutional Membership” and “Competitive Scholarships, Opportunities, Internships, and Programs at a Glance.”

Contributors include Marianne Craven, Managing Director of Academic Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of State; Michael Lenardo, Director of Science Programs, NIH Oxford Cambridge Scholars Program; Mike Mallory, President of the Ron Brown Scholar Program; Colleen Quint, Executive Director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Research Institute; Patti Ross, Vice President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation; and fellowships advisors from across the country.

Editor

Suzanne McCray is vice provost for enrollment and director of nationally competitive awards at the University of Arkansas. She is the editor of All In: Expanding Access through Nationally Competitive Awards; Beyond Winning: National Scholarship Competitions and the Student Experience; and Nationally Competitive Scholarships: Serving Students and the Public Good.

Praise

“A must read for fellowship advisors old and new. Leading the Way: Student Engagement and Nationally Competitive Awards shares valuable insights into what sometimes seems to be the mysterious world of foundations, fellowships and advising.”
—Mary C. Denyer, Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission