The Fondren Fellows program funds Rice undergraduate or graduate students to conduct research or teaching projects sponsored by Fondren Library that will benefit the library and the scholarly community. For example, projects may involve working with archival collections, developing digital projects, or making recommendations for library services. Rice faculty members or Fondren staff will serve as the mentors for each project.
Call for Fondren Felllows Projects
Rice University’s Fondren Library invites Rice faculty and library staff as well as Houston area cultural heritage organizations to propose projects for students to undertake through its Fondren Fellows program. By proposing a project, you agree to mentor the fellow(s) and to coordinate project work with the Fondren Fellows steering committee. This program funds Rice undergraduate or graduate students to work on research or educational projects that will benefit the library and the scholarly community. Fellows are paid $17 an hour for up to 250 hours of work. Projects should take place between fall 2021 and summer 2022. The application deadline is August 12, 2021.
Please see this document for more information about proposing a Fondren Fellows project.
2020-2021 Fondren Fellows
- Faculty-Student Research Collaboration in Digital History: Adjusting and Expanding visualizingabolition.org: Sai Sankeerth
- The Sugar Land 95: Mapping Convict Leasing in Fort Bend County, 1865- 2018: Suzanne Harms
- Centennial of the Vote! 100 Years of Activism: Ev Delafose
- A short history of the Leibniz Society of North America: Zach Schwarze
- Translational Humanities for Public Health: Meghana Nadella
- Women of Rice Omeka Exhibit: Karen Siu
- Teaching and Consulting in R: Maxwell Bender
- “Who’s Using It?”: Open Educational Resources at Rice: Luna Cortelezzi
- Media Center Film and Video Archive: Baird Campbell and Konstantin Georgiev
- Fondren Eco-Rep: Ashley Fitzpatrick
Benefits to Fellows
The Fondren Fellows program offers the following benefits to students:
- Receive a competitive wage. Fellows will receive $17/ hour, with a cap of 250 hours per fellowship.
- Create a meaningful research or teaching project in collaboration with experts
- Hone research and communication skills
- Work flexible hours; most positions involve at least some remote work
Applying for a Fellowship
We expect to open up applications for the 2021-2022 Fondren Fellows cohort in August of 2021, with an anticipated deadline of September 2021..
Background Information
Fondren Library gratefully acknowledges the John “Terry” Maltsberger III estate for creating an endowment to support expanding the Fondren Fellows program. Please see Katharine Shilcutt's "Surprise for Fondren Library: $2 million endowment to fund experiential research," Rice News (November 5, 2018).
Between 2016 and 2019, the Fondren Fellows program was funded through the generous support of Trish Brice. It is inspired by a similar program at Vanderbilt, as well as by student research programs at Rice’s Center for Civic Leadership and Rice’s Humanities Research Center.
Learn more about the program by reading Jeff Falk's "Fondren Fellows Program showcases students’ research prowess," Rice News (April 17, 2017).