Trustee Recruiting Fellowships

These one-time (non-renewable) awards are given to incoming students in memory of individuals who influenced particular fields of study and the University of South Carolina during their lifetimes.

Rhude M. Patterson Trustee Recruiting Fellowship

The Award

$5,000 awarded to incoming female graduate students in:

Humanities
Social Sciences

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

Fall 2025 nominations are open. Admitted students should contact their academic program if they are interested in being nominated. Academic programs may nominate up to two incoming students from their respective programs by submitting a nomination letter to GRADCOMM@mailbox.sc.edu. The nomination deadline is March 7, 2025.

Graduate School