Fondren Fellows

About the program

The Fondren Fellows program funds Rice undergraduate or graduate students to conduct research or teaching projects sponsored by Fondren Library that advance the library's strategic priorities. Projects are proposed by Rice faculty members or Fondren staff who serve as mentors, helping Fellows to establish a work plan, develop the project, and acquire needed skills. These projects cover a wide range of topics, such as describing archival collections, recommending ways to improve library services, or creating educational resources.

2026-2027 Fondren Fellows Projects 

• Implementing a Decision-making Framework for Using AI in Teaching
• SlaveVoyages.org 
• Red Book of Houston
• Demystifying Generative AI: Facilitating artificial intelligence literacy through video microtutorials 
• Readers’ Marks: tracing the past in Fondren’s rare book collections
• Directories to geoData: Developing a Sanborn-Based Address Locator for Historical GIS
• Preserving Plants Past: Digitally Uncovering Rice’s Hidden Herbarium 
• AI-Enhanced Teaching of Text Analysis with Python: Connecting Library Instruction to Industry Documents Archives
• The White House Scientists Archive
• The Ethics Evolution: Assessing and Advancing Research Integrity Training 
  Exploring Documents, Institutions, and Texts (EDIT)

Benefits for Fellows

The Fondren Fellows program offers the following benefits to students:

• Competitive wage of $18/ hour for up to 200 hours of work.
• Create a meaningful research or teaching project in collaboration with experts.
• Hone research and communication skills.
• Work flexible hours 

Expectations

Once selected, Fondren Fellows are expected to:

• Participate in regular meetings with their mentor(s) and, as appropriate, with other Fellows
• Develop and submit a research plan in cooperation with the project group and Mentor
• Be able to dedicate at least 5-10 hours of work per week to their project
• Provide reports on their progress in meeting the project goals
• Present their project at a public forum, such as the Rice Undergraduate Research Symposium (RURS), Fondren Town Hall Meeting, or as part of our Fondren Fellows Showcase
• Acknowledge the Fondren Fellows program in any publications or presentations resulting from the fellowship
• Provide feedback on the Fellows program, including by completing a brief survey at the middle and end of the fellowship

Outcomes and Highlights

Explore the outcomes and project deliverables of recent Fondren Fellows projects.

Fondren Fellows Steering Committee

The Fondren Fellows program is overseen by:

• Lisa Spiro (Fondren Fellows director and Assistant University Librarian for Digital Scholarship and Organizational Development)
• Asia Youngs-Bailey (Fondren Fellows Program Coordinator)
• Amanda Focke (Head of Special Collections)
• Denis Galvin (Assistant University Librarian for IT and Technical Services)
• Cindy Pierard (Assistant University Librarian for Research Services)

More about the Fondren Fellows Program

Fondren Library gratefully acknowledges the John “Terry” Maltsberger III estate for creating an endowment to support expanding the Fondren Fellows program - "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. The program's inception originally drew inspiration from 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.

For more information, see Jeff Falk's article: "Fondren Fellows Program showcases students’ research prowess," Rice News (April 17, 2017) and Andrew Bell's "Rice’s Fondren Fellows program displays projects at showcase event," Rice News (April 29, 2024).

Fellows are encouraged to upload completed project materials and presentations to the Rice Research Repository (R-3).