The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (AHI) is pleased to announce the fourth annual E. M. Bakwin Fellowship competition.  Mr. Bakwin, a graduate of Hamilton College (1950) and the University of Chicago (1961), served as Chairman of the Board of MB Financial Bank in Chicago.  A long-standing student of Western culture, his generosity has touched Hamilton College, the University of Chicago, Shimer College, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and many other institutions.

The Bakwin Fellowship awards a stipend of $1,600 for advanced research in regional archives and libraries on subjects that comport with the central concerns of the AHI as defined in its charter. Doctoral and post-doctoral researchers are encouraged to apply. Recipients of the award will reside, free of charge, for one summer month (July or August) in the Jane Fraser Room at the AHI’s headquarters, a historic building located in 21 West Park Row, Clinton, New York.  A panel comprised of AHI fellows and trustees will evaluate the applications. Application deadline is Monday, May 14, 2012 and the AHI will announce the award winner on Monday, May 28, 2012.

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To apply, candidates will need to fill out a fellowship application. It must include a copy of the applicant’s résumé, two letters of reference, and a proposal that should not exceed five double-spaced pages.

Proposals should reference the manuscript or rare book collections to be consulted and how precisely they will contribute to the intellectual significance of the project. Area repositories include the Olin Library, Cornell University; the Oneida County Historical Society; Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University; Special Collections and Archives, Colgate University; Rare Books and Special Collections, Hamilton College. In assessing proposals, evaluators will follow closely the criteria spelled out in the fellowship program of the National Endowment for the Humanities:

  1. The intellectual significance of the proposed project, including its value to scholars and general audiences in the humanities.
  2. The quality or promise of quality of the applicant’s work as an interpreter of the humanities.
  3. The quality of the conception, definition, organization, and description of the project and the applicant’s clarity of expression.
  4. The feasibility of the proposed plan of work, including, when appropriate, the soundness of the dissemination and access plans.
  5. The likelihood that the applicant will complete the project.

Completed applications should be sent to:

Robert L. Paquette, The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization
Alexander Hamilton Inn
21 West Park Row
Clinton, NY  13323