Scholarships and Awards
Women's Studies Scholarships and Awards 2012
Listed below are scholarships and awards specific to Women’s Studies. Please note that all awards are contingent upon the availability of funds.
- Carrie Koeturius Scholarship for Returning Women Students
- The Sallie Lowther Norris Showalter Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Related Disciplines
- The Winifred South Knutti Graduate Scholarship in Women’s Studies
- The Velma Miller/West Virginia Alliance for Women’s Studies Graduate Scholar Award
- Judy Mossburg Faculty, Staff and Student Development Grants
- Elaine K. Ginsberg Graduate Student Enrichment Fund
- Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior and Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards
- Women’s Studies Difference Fund
- Graduate Teaching Assistantships in Women’s Studies
- TEACH-WV: NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at WVU
Carrie Koeturius Scholarship for Returning Women Students
“Carrie” scholarships were first endowed in 1987. They help women who have interrupted their education. The award’s namesake, Carrie Koeturius, is a former Morgantown activist for women’s issues who came to WVU to finish her bachelor’s degree in social work. She currently enjoys great success as a conference/event organizer.
Eligibility: Women enrolled full or part-time in any WVU undergraduate or graduate academic program whose college education has been interrupted for a total of 2 years or who entered college 5 years after high school.
Selection: Demonstrated interest in using college education to help other women, academic potential and financial need. Preference given to WV residents, single parents and full-time students.
Congratulations to the 2012 Awardees – Daisy Bloomfield, LaToya Jones and Gladys Kuria!
The Sallie Lowther Norris Showalter Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Related Disciplines
Recognizes an undergraduate woman who demonstrates high mathematical/scientific achievement and commitment to social justice. One of the first ten women admitted to WVU in 1889, Sallie won the freshman math prize in 1890 and spoke eloquently for women’s right to higher education.
Eligibility: Women enrolled in any WVU undergraduate academic program.
Selection: High achievement in mathematics or mathematics-related study and commitment to women’s/social justice issues.
The 2012 Showalter scholarship was awarded to Ashley Dauntain.
The Winifred South Knutti Graduate Scholarship in Women’s Studies
Supports graduate work in women’s studies and honors the first woman to receive a graduate degree (1889) at WVU. Funded by the WVU Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund, it celebrates the first century of women’s education at WVU, and the centenary goal of excellence through equity.
Eligibility: Women and men currently enrolled in good standing in any WVU graduate program. Must be WV resident (i.e. qualify for in-state tuition) and document financial need.
Selection: Graduate course work in women’s studies and/or research that reflects current women’s studies scholarship.
The 2012 recipient of the Knutti Graduate Scholarship in Women’s Studies is Melissa Chesanko.
The Velma Miller/West Virginia Alliance for Women’s Studies Graduate Scholar Award
Supports graduate work in women’s studies and honors Velma M. Miller (1907-1996), a founding board member of the West Virginia Alliance for Women’s Studies. A leader in community service, service to women, business, and political reform, Miller was active in local and state affairs for over fifty years. Her good counsel and irrepressible wit inspired and encouraged those privileged to work with her in community service, service to women, business, and political reform for over one-half century.
A native of Pisgah, Preston County, West Virginia, Velma Miller grew up and spent her life in Morgantown, West Virginia. In 1954 she led the successful campaign to open jury service to women in West Virginia. A member of the National Society of Interior Designers, she served as president of the Morgantown Business and Professional Women’s Club and county Visiting Homemakers Service and Family Service Association. Velma Miller was the first woman to head the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce and the first woman to be recognized for Outstanding Community Service by the Chamber. Her community and organizational service included work with the United Way, the American Lung Association, Beta Sigma Phi, Newcomers Club of Morgantown, area hospitals, and the Wesley United Methodist Church.Although not herself able to graduate from college, Velma Miller treasured education and was deeply interested in expanding educational opportunities for women and promoting education about women. This scholarship recognizes the important role women’s studies learning plays in the development of women who like Velma Miller, are leaders who demonstrate pragmatism, vision, and love of learning.
Eligibility: Candidates for the Velma M. Miller Women’s Studies Graduate Scholar Award must be women who have been accepted into a post-baccalaureate degree program at West Virginia University in Morgantown; are enrolled for a minimum of 9 graduate credits in the semester during which the award is made; and have a graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Candidates must be nominated by university faculty and/or staff and their course work and/or thesis must have significant women’s studies content.
Selection: Successful candidates must demonstrate marked leadership ability and/or show unusual promise as disciplinary/career/or community leaders who are committed to social justice.
The 2012 awardee is Lisa DiDonato
Judy Mossburg Fund for Student, Faculty and Staff Development
Founded in 1992 to honor a much-beloved Center office manager, the Mossburg fund assists faculty associates, staff, and students with their professional and women’s studies development across the campus. Awards vary.
Applications may be submitted at any time.
Elaine K. Ginsberg Graduate Student Enrichment Fund
The fund was established in 2006 by Dr. Elaine Ginsberg, one of the original faculty members in the Women’s Studies Program. This fund provides assistance to graduate students affiliated with the Department of English and the Center for Women’s Studies who wish to attend academic conferences. The associate dean for research and graduate studies in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences administers this fund, will the chair of the Department of English and the director of the Center for Women’s Studies endorse the applications.
For more information or to apply, contact:
WVU Center for Women’s Studies
218 Eiesland Hall, PO Box 6450
Morgantown, WV 26506-6450
Phone: (304) 293-2339
Fax: (304) 293-3041
Email: wmst@mail.as.wvu.edu
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Women’s Studies Senior and Outstanding Women’s Studies Teaching Assistant Awards
Given through the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences for exemplary work, with cash awards given through the Center for Women’s Studies, following the tradition set by the West Virginia Alliance for Women’s Studies in the mid-1990s. Recipients of these awards are selected by Center for Women’s Studies faculty; no application or nomination form is available.
The 2012 awardee is Melissa Chesanko.
Women’s Studies Difference Fund
The fund provides discretionary funds, primarily, to enhance the recruitment and the retention of teaching assistants for WMST 170 (the women’s studies introductory course) and WMST 150 (Women In Movies), which are taken by more than 500 students each semester. This fund also enables undergraduate and graduate students to take advantage of student enrichment activities (field trips, internships, study abroad, workshop attendance, research, presentation of work) which would otherwise be impossible.
Applications may be submitted at any time.
For more information or to apply, contact:
WVU Center for Women’s Studies
218 Eiesland Hall, PO Box 6450
Morgantown, WV 26506-6450
Phone: (304) 293-2339
Fax: (304) 293-3041
Email: wmst@mail.as.wvu.edu
Graduate Teaching Assistantships in Women’s Studies
The WVU Center for Women’s Studies is an academic unit in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences with a university-wide mission to coordinate interdisciplinary teaching and research on women and gender. The Center offers both a major and a minor in women’s studies to undergraduates. Graduate students may earn the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (M.A.L.S.) with an emphasis in women’s studies or a graduate certificate in women’s studies. GTA applicants may be graduate students in any discipline. Previous GTAs, for example, have come from English, Social Work, Counseling, History, Education, Public Health, Public Administration, Law, Art, and the Women’s Studies-Directed Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program.
Dates of Employment: Academic Year 2013-2014.
Stipend: tba
Recipients will also receive a tuition waiver and hospitalization insurance. The Center for Women’s Studies will provide some additional financial support for GTAs to enhance their educational development through our Women’s Studies Difference Fund.
Duties: Teach one or two sections of WMST 170 Introduction to Women’s Studies in each semester as part of the teaching team; one GTA will also assist with other undergraduate courses. GTAs are directly supervised by Brian Jara, Senior Lecturer in Women’s Studies, and will attend two mandatory one-day orientation and trainings in May and August. GTAs will have full responsibility for sections of WMST 170, including grading exams and papers, consulting with students on their writing and projects, and participating in a weekly teaching practicum with Professor Jara.
Qualifications: BA degree in any field; some graduate work preferred. Previous research and/or community experience in women’s studies and current research and/or course work on women or gender are preferred. Teaching experience is strongly preferred. The Center for Women’s Studies values inclusiveness and diversity in the public it serves and on its staff. Nontraditional and minority candidates are encouraged to apply. Students must be full-time degree candidates to qualify as GTAs, and must register for the teaching practicum.
Application Procedure: Applications will be available in January 2013.
The deadline for applications for the 2013-14 academic year is 4:00 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013..

