Melissa Zimdars receives Ballard and Seashore Fellowship

2014 May 1

Melissa Zimdars, a native of Green Bay, WI, is one of 35 recipients of the Ballard and Seashore Fellowship at the University of Iowa. Ballard and Seashore Fellowships are intended to help students in the social sciences and humanities complete their dissertations. This is a final year fellowship for students who expect to graduate by the end of the summer 2015 term.

Students are nominated by their departments or programs. The number of fellowships is limited and awards are highly competitive. Departments may nominate one student for every eight doctoral candidates, up to a maximum of three students.

"The Graduate College is pleased to announce these highly competitive awards, which have proven to be critical for the success of the recipients," says John Keller, UI associate provost for graduate education and Graduate College dean. "In the past decade, over 90 percent of the recipients of the Ballard and Seashore Fellowships have gone on to complete their doctoral degrees."

The fellowship provides a stipend of $20,000 for the academic year, along with two credit hours of tuition per semester (but not mandatory fees) and a health/dental insurance allowance.

To be eligible, students must have successfully completed the comprehensive examination by the nomination deadline. During the fellowship period, recipients may not hold other paid positions, except in unique situations that contribute substantially to the student's academic development.

Funds for three Ada Louisa Ballard Fellowships were initially bequeathed by the late professor Clarence E. Cousins to honor his mother. Professor Cousins was a long-time faculty member in the Department of French and Italian. The Graduate College awards these fellowships, along with Seashore Fellowships in honor of former Graduate College Dean Carl Seashore.