Fellowships for All Graduate Students
Trustee Fellowships are awarded to full-time graduate students who exhibit excellence in graduate study, research and scholarship.
Award Amount
$2,000
Eligibility
All graduate students may be nominated.
2023 Winner
Valerie Yelverton, Health Services Policy and Management
About C.C. Royal
CC Royal was a lumberman from Aiken, South Carolina. In 1950, he bought Kiawah Island. Over the next 24 years, Royal logged pine trees, built the causeway to Kiawah, developed Eugenia Avenue and put in east-to-west logging roads, the precursors to today’s paved roads. In 1974, Royal sold the island to the Kuwait Investment Corporation for a large profit. Development of the island began in earnest.
Award Amount
$750
Eligibility
All graduate students may be nominated.
2023 Winner
Ling Hao, Teaching and Learning
About Dera D. Parkinson
Dera Dry Parkinson was the first woman and sixth person to earn a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. She earned her degree in psychology. Dr. Parkinson was an educator, lecturer, author, parliamentarian, scholar and researcher. She taught history and psychology at Chicora College and Furman University. She was born in Albermarle, North Carolina and married to Dr. Burney Lynch, President emeritus of Mississippi State College for Women and former director of the Extension Division of the University of South Carolina.
Award Amount
$750
Eligibility
All graduate students may be nominated.
2023 Winner
Hannah Burzynski, Biomedical Sciences
About George M. Reeves
George M. Reeves graduated from the University of Paris with a D.U. in 1953. At the University of South Carolina, he was Director for the Lilly Teaching Fellows Program, Senior Assistant to the President, Dean of the Graduate School and faculty emeriti in French and Classics. In addition to his active involvement in the College of Arts and Sciences, Reeves supported the South Carolina Archaeological Research Trust.
Fellowships for Specific Graduate Students
Trustee Fellowships are awarded to full-time graduate students who exhibit excellence in graduate study, research and scholarship.
Award Amount
$3,500
Eligibility
Business administration graduate students pursuing a master's or doctoral degree.
2023 Winner
Nathaniel Hill, International Business
About Charles Coker
Charles Coker was the Chairman of the Board of Sonoco Products. He received an Honorary Degree from USC during the December 2001 commencement exercises. He was also a founding member of the USC-Business Partnership Foundation within the Darla Moore School of Business.
Award Amount
$5,000
Eligibility
Nominees must meet the following criteria:
- Female Graduate Student
- In the Humanities and/or Social Sciences Field
2023 Winner
- Wendy Chu, Psychology
- Mary Quattlebaum, Psychology
About Rhude M. Patterson
Rhude Meetze Patterson earned a master’s degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina in 1952. The wife of William H. Patterson, USC's 24th president, Ms. Patterson served for three years as the curator of the University Collections where she was instrumental in cataloguing the Baruch Silver Collection and moving the university's permanent collections from the War Memorial Building to McKissick Museum. She also served as president of the Columbia Garden Club. This fellowship was first awarded in 1983 and grew out of Ms. Patterson’s concern that women were not receiving sufficient financial support for graduate studies.
Nominations
As part of the nomination packet, Graduate Directors will be required to submit:
- Letter of Support (from a graduate faculty sponsor)
- Statement on Research and Scholarship (from the nominee)
- CV or Resume
- Optional: Sample Publication (not to exceed 5 pages)
Multiple Nominees
Each program may nominate up to two students for these awards. If a program nominates two students for the same award, the program must rank the nominees.
Nomination Deadline
The Spring 2024 nomination deadline is March 15.