The John E. Rovensky Fellowships in U.S. Business or Economic History (2024-2025)
The University of Illinois Foundation announces the 2024-2025 John Rovensky Fellowship in US Business or Economic History. An $11,000 fellowship will be awarded for a doctoral student writing a dissertation in U.S. business or economic history. The fellowship is available largely through the generosity of the late John E. Rovensky and is administered by the University of Illinois Foundation. Awardees may use the fellowship concurrently with other funding sources, including grants or teaching assignments.
Eligibility
Applicants must be working toward a Ph.D. degree with U.S. business or economic history as the area of major interest. The fellowship recipient must be enrolled in a doctoral program at an accredited college or university in the United States. Applicants should be working on a dissertation based on in-depth archival research on any period. Preference will be given to applicants who are preparing for a career in teaching and research and who will have completed all graduate course work prior to the fall of 2024. Awards are non-renewable but may be taken along with other fellowships from other sources. The awardee may use the fellowship concurrently with other funding sources, including grants or teaching assignments. The awardee will be expected to recognize the fellowship on any scholarly work(s) that benefitted from it and contribute with a short video of their research to be published by the University of Illinois.
Application Process
The Rovensky Fellowship Selection Committee is composed by the following scholars:
Marcelo Bucheli (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Chair
Christy Chapin (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
Pamela Walker Laird (Colorado, Denver)
Christopher McKenna (Oxford University)
John Parman (William & Mary)
Richard Sicotte (University of Vermont)
Applicants are judged on the basis of the following criteria:
Academic ability and interest in business and/or economic history, documented in one letter of recommendation
Demonstrated ability in research and writing
Potential for career in teaching and academic research, supported in letter of recommendation
Quality of dissertation proposal
Required application materials
Applicants should submit all the materials below.
• CV: please include information on the letter writer (email and name)
• Statement of purpose describing the dissertation project, hypothesis, methods, sources and contribution. The document should not be longer than 6 pages, single spaced, Times New Roman, size 12 (excluding bibliography)
• One letter of recommendation. The letter should be submitted by the recommender directly via email to Marcelo Bucheli (mbucheli@illinois.edu) before the deadline.
Please save each document using the following format: last name_first initial_type of document. For example, if your name is Rosa Luxemburg, save your CV as Luxemburg_R_CV.pdf. If your name is Adam Smith, save your statement as Smith_A_Statement.pdf.
Completed applications for the fellowship must be received no later than Wednesday July 31 2024. Winners will be notified by email by late August 2023. Application materials should be uploaded using the following link: https://thebhc.org/form/rovensky-fellowshipus.
About John E. Rovensky
John E. Rovensky grew up in Pittsburgh in a family of modest circumstances, entered the banking profession, and moved to New York City. There he became the youngest vice president of the National Bank of Commerce, at the time the second largest bank in New York City. He later served with the Bank of America and National City Bank of New York. At the close of a very successful banking career, Mr. Rovensky became chairman of the executive committee of American Car and Foundry Company (later ACF Industries) and subsequently chairman of the board. Retiring from active business interests in 1954, he still retained a lively interest in economics, public affairs, and the academic profession. He died in 1970.
The fellowships arise from a substantial gift, which Mr. Rovensky made to the Lincoln Educational Foundation in 1961 thanks to the encouragement of Donald L. Kemmerer, his long-time friend, Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois, and president of the Lincoln Educational Foundation. The Lincoln Educational Foundation was founded in 1951 by Mr. Alexander Whiteford, an executive of Union Carbide, to promote recognition of the role of private business and entrepreneurship in America's growth and development.
When the Lincoln Educational Foundation was liquidated in 1984, Professor Kemmerer ensured that the remaining funds were transferred to the University of Illinois where he had been a faculty member since 1937, becoming Professor Emeritus in 1973. He died in 1993. The monies and the Fellowship program are now administered by the University of Illinois Foundation.
Inquiries may be directed to:
Marcelo Bucheli
Department of Business Administration
350 Wohlers
1206 S. 6th Street
Champaign, IL 61820, USA
E-mail: mbucheli@illinois.edu