The Graduate School is marking its 100th anniversary by awarding 20 Centennial Fellowships. Each fellowship carries a monetary award of $1,000.

Deadline for receipt of applications is December 1, 2006. Awards will be announced in January 2007.

This year's goal is to have one applicant from each department, said Christine Ebert, dean of The Graduate School.

"This is an opportunity for faculty and staff to nominate a graduate student their department considers an outstanding representative of their doctoral or masters program," Ebert said. "The primary selection criterion for the Graduate School Centennial Fellowship is excellence of the graduate student's research and academic pursuits at USC. In addition to the quality of the graduate students' accomplishments, the selection committee will consider the extent to which the nominee best represents the department's programs. A proud description of the program will be important to the understanding of the committee members as they select recipients."

To nominate a student, faculty and staff should choose the student who best exemplifies graduate study in their department. The nomination packet must include:

• A letter of nomination from the department which includes a description of the program itself (Graduate Director)
• Evidence of student's accomplishments (transcript, artifacts related to coursework or research, etc.)
• Two letters of recommendation (from professors) outlining why this student is the best representative of the department.

Nomination packets should be mailed or delivered to The Graduate School. Packets must be received by The Graduate School no later than Dec. 1.

For more information, contact Anthony Edwards by phone at 7-6399 or e-mail at ae@gwm.sc.edu.

The Graduate School is also accepting nominations for its Centennial Poster Contest. The display may be a poster, art work, or three-dimensional artifact. Electronic displays are not acceptable. The theme of visual display should explore the question, "What about your graduate education experience is most important to you in your graduate studies at the University of South Carolina (i.e., clinical, academic, artistic and musical excellence, research, professional network, etc.)?"

Award amounts are $1,000 (5 awards) and $500 (10 awards).

Winners will be announced at The Graduate School's Centennial Gala on January 24, 2007. More information about the time and location is forthcoming. Winning entries will be displayed across campus.

Judges of the poster competition will include faculty, a graduate student representative, and a graduate school representative. The Graduate School will schedule a meeting of judges in early January 2007.

Students planning to participate should submit a letter of intent to Karen David in The Graduate School by e-mail karend@gwm.sc.edu no later than Dec. 1.

11/06