Women in Public Life Fellowship

The University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center (AHC) invites applications for the Women in Public Life Fellowship through March 31, 2024. The fellowship aims to support a 20-day research stay at the AHC. 

The annual competition is designed to encourage academic scholars to disseminate their findings from the AHC’s abundant collections relating to women’s lives and careers in the public sector. Academic scholars at any level, from graduate students to tenured faculty, may apply. Members of under-represented communities and multi-disciplinary scholars are encouraged to apply.

Research Fields

Research projects may address any topic related to women in public life. The AHC’s holdings include a wealth of material on women's issues as well as numerous collections pertaining to women who gained prominence in national and regional affairs. In particular, the Center also contains numerous archives concerning women’s entry into the political process over past 150 years. There are papers of pioneering women in the fields of journalism, film, environmental activism, literature, politics, and suffrage efforts, among other endeavors. Yet AHC collections contain more than just the collected papers of "great women.” There are also important materials on the everyday lives of women. Included are collected biographies of women in the early twentieth century and oral accounts of women's lives throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Women's history resources in the AHC are valuable for social, political, and economic historians. They contain significant materials for historians interested in the role of women in American culture.

Features of the Fellowship

The fellowship includes a $3,000 stipend. Fellows will be in residence at the AHC for one month (20 business days), during the fifteen months following notification of the award. (For in-residence research of less than 20 days, the stipend will be pro-rated.)

Fellows are expected to prepare a precis outlining sources consulted, how those sources shaped the research findings, and how the Fellow will incorporate this information into a final product. Fellows are expected to credit the AHC in publications which use its collections and to provide copies to the AHC of final publication or work.

Payment of Stipends
The Fellow will receive the stipend at the end of their stay and receipt of the precis. No advances will be authorized.

Fellows are responsible for arranging their transportation, lodging, and meals during residency. Visit UW Admissions website for travel directions to Laramie, Wyoming, University of Wyoming campus maps, and possible lodging. 

Application

Proposals for the 2024 fellowship should include a three-page research proposal that includes specific indication of which AHC collections will be used, placement of this project within investigator’s larger research program, plans for publication or other form of dissemination, and a timeline outlining the research plan and dates for anticipated products. Proposals should also include the applicant’s CV and names and contact information of three referees. 

Proposals will be awarded based on the following criteria:

• The extent to which the proposed project draws upon the collections of the AHC.
• The research project’s potential contribution to the understanding of women’s role in the public sector.
• The potential for professional presentation and/or publication upon completion of the Fellow’s research.
• The applicant's ability to complete the research project in a timely fashion.

A selection committee composed of AHC staff and University of Wyoming faculty will choose each year’s Fellow. The recipient will be informed by e-mail.

Please email all application materials electronically by April 30, 2024, to AHC Archivist Leslie Waggener.

Information about the American Heritage Center

The American Heritage Center (AHC) is a public research institution located on the campus of the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The AHC houses collections of local, regional and national significance. Its holdings emphasize the American West, from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. It has extensive collections in military history, popular entertainment (including Hollywood and comics), mining and petroleum, as well as the environment and natural resources. The AHC also serves as the University of Wyoming’s manuscripts repository, rare books library, and university archives. With more than 90,000 cubic feet of material and 3500 collections, the AHC stands among the largest non-governmental repositories in the nation.