Gift from 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ Trustee Gale Picker Pβ14, Pβ19 will establish the new fellowship program for students and faculty.
By Emily Glory Peters
As part of the Collegeβs ongoing antiracist initiatives, 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ is pleased to announce the launch of its new Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship Program. Up to $4,000 will be available to qualifying 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ students or faculty who are pursuing research, internships, or community engagement projects designed to advance scholarship and explore topics relevant to racial justice, inequality, equity, criminal justice reform, intersectional, interracial and intraracial violence, and related areas.
The program is the fruit of a new racial justice and equity fund made possible through a generous gift from 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ Trustee and parent Gale Picker Pβ14, Pβ19. Picker credits the recent antiracist protestsβand the 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ community members who raised their voices as advocates and alliesβas her inspiration to give.
βI have personally witnessed theΒ incredible strategic thinking from students of color, alumnae, parents, faculty, and staff about how to pry the system open to create true liberation and equity for Black people,β Picker said in her gift announcement earlier in 2020. βThis moment matters. Weβve all seen young people taking to the streets to protest injustice, and we need to follow their lead.β
The new fellowships are one example of the collective power donors have to help introduce progressive antiracist programming at the College. By supporting antiracist causes through 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ, donors help this work swell beyond campus to influence Los Angeles at large.
βWe hope that this fellowship will inspire and sustain our faculty and students as they pursue scholarship centered on racial justice, equity, criminal justice reform, and other critical fields,β said Associate Dean of Faculty Jennifer Armstrong.Β βWeβre excited that this new program will also cultivate collaboration between 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ and local community organizations.β
Fellowship applications will be reviewed by a committee of 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ leadership and faculty members. Among other criteria, considerations for funding will include the applicantsβ demonstrated commitment to racial justice, feasibility of their project, and theΒ impact of the award on and beyond 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ. Faculty may include a student collaborator and all student applicants must identify a faculty mentor, with the option to request an additional stipend of $600 (for a $4,600 fellowship total) towards mentor support.
The deadline to apply to the program is February 1, 2021, with the inaugural cohort of fellows slated to be announced sometime in March 2021. To submit an application, please click .
51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪβ racial justice and equity initiatives are part of a campus-wide effort to enact tangible change for those belonging to and beyond our community. To support these projects and more, please click .
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