A new fellowship endowment will offer money to motivated Harpur College undergraduates who wish to benefit the larger community.

The Tucker Fellowship program, established by Binghamton University alumni Jeffrey and Eve Tucker of classes ‘84 and ‘85, respectively, will award two fellowships annually for up to $4,000 each to students who pursue a self-designed project they are passionate about.

In a press release, the Tuckers stated they made this gift to grant experiences to college students that were unattainable when they attended BU.

“This [fellowship] will benefit students who want to serve the community,” said Don Nieman, dean of Harpur College and Tucker Fellowship program coordinator. “[The program] taps the talents of Harpur students to give them initiative to solve problems and help them grow intellectually.”

Nieman helped the Tuckers design the program after working with them and learning their desire to make a gift to the University. Nieman stated that the program highlights the importance of teaching students to push themselves and be their own boss.

The most important component is to make an impact on the “community,” which in terms of the Tucker Program is defined loosely and can be a remote village in Africa or an inner-city classroom.

In order to devote their full attention to the project, students in the program must complete the project when they are not enrolled at the University, such as the summer and winter break sessions. The student can also opt to take a semester off. Applicants planning to take off a fall or spring semester will not be weighed differently.

“[Fellowships] help students explore areas that they might not be able to otherwise by providing economic support, the opportunity to volunteer and to travel,” said Janice McDonald, director of the Office of External Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards.

According to McDonald, the Tucker Fellowship program is protected from proposed SUNY budget cuts since it is privately funded.

Application to the program is a competitive process in which students submit a proposal, including a 1,000-word essay in which the applicant outlines their project and how they plan to pursue it utilizing their skills.

Criteria for selection includes: the clarity of one’s proposal, if the project is realistic in terms of budget constraint, if the student is passionate about the project, if the project serves the community, and if there is opportunity for the students to grow personally and intellectually in the course of their work.

To be eligible, the Harpur student must have completed 32 credit hours at the University, have a minimum GPA of 3.2 and must return to BU for at least one semester after completing the fellowship.

The application can be found online at www2.binghamton.edu/harpur/fellows/application.html, and will be accepted no later than Dec. 1, 2009 to Diane Ruocco in the Harpur College Dean’s Office. A group of faculty representatives chosen by Nieman will form the selection committee.

The committee will invite a small group of applicants for first-round interviews to ask the students more in-depth questions about their proposed work, and finalist interviews will be held the first week of spring semester classes. The winner will be notified by Feb. 15, 2010.

Upon their return to the University and the conclusion of said project, the student is required to give a presentation on their program’s accomplishments.

If interested students have further questions they can contact Nieman in the Harpur Dean’s Office, Library North room 2430.

McDonald urges students to visit scholarships.binghamton.edu for more information on scholarships and opportunities on campus and at external schools.

A general interest meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 5 from 5 to 6 p.m. in Academic A room G08.