Bernard L. Majewski Fellowship

The University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center (AHC) is accepting applications for the 2024 Bernard L. Majewski Research Fellowship through March 31, 2024. The fellowship aims to support a 20-day research stay at the AHC.

The Fellowship

The fellowship is named for Bernard L. Majewski, a petroleum executive who began working in 1917 for Deep Rock Oil Corporation of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and eventually became a vice-president. In 1951, he established the Great American Oil Company. He served the U.S. government before and during World War II in petroleum administration. The fellowship is funded by an endowment provided through the generosity of Mrs. Thelma Majewski and is intended to provide research support for a recognized scholar in the history of economic geology and to facilitate the Fellow’s use of the AHC’s archival collections. Academic scholars at any level, from graduate students to tenured faculty, may apply.

Research Fields

The Fellowship is intended to support research in the history of economic geology. For the purposes of the Fellowship, economic geology is defined as the activities of exploration and development of petroleum, base, precious and industrial minerals, including basic geological research. Acceptable related fields include history, oral history, and historical archaeology pertaining to economic geology, environment and natural resources history, and business or economic history related to economic geology. The AHC maintains many archival collections that can be used by the Fellow as source material in conducting historical research. Research projects that integrate archival data with data gathered from other sources (such as historical archaeology and the earth sciences) are also encouraged. 

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 the history of economic geology.

• 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 by March 31, 2024, to AHC Archivist Leslie Waggener. 

Information about the American Heritage Center

The AHC is a public research institution with 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, mining and petroleum, as well as environment and natural resources. The Center 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 Center stands among the largest non-governmental repositories in the nation. 

For more information, please contact AHC Archivist Leslie Waggener or call 307-766-2557.