Lyman T. Johnson Postdoctoral Fellowship

In an effort to contribute to the mission of enhancing diversity, the University of Kentucky established the Lyman T. Johnson Postdoctoral Fellowships to support postdoctoral fellows in graduate and professional areas. The fellowships are named in honor of UK's first African-American graduate student, Lyman T. Johnson.

Application deadline is November 1, 2007.

Fellowship recipients pursue an individualized research program under the mentorship of one or more UK professors and actively participate in departmental and professional research related activities. Fellows play a lead role in designing, developing and implementing research programs that contribute to a department's overall graduate education and research mandates.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or have pending permanent resident status under sponsorship at the University of Kentucky. Applicants much have completed the doctoral degree within the past two years or will complete the doctoral degree before the date of appointment. Preference will be given to applicants who do not have a prior postdoctoral appointment at UK. For those with a previous or longstanding appointment at UK, preference will be given to applicants who will be affiliated with a research group other than the one in which they did their prior research. The goal is to broaden the research experience and training for the fellowship recipient. Selection criteria include:

• Evidence of scholarship with competitive potential for a tenure-track faculty appointment at a research university
• Compatibility of specific research interests with those present in doctorate-granting units at UK
• Quality of the fellowship proposal
• Strong support from mentor and references
• Effect of appointment on the educational benefit of diversity within the research or professional area

The fellowship provides a $35,000 stipend plus $5,000 for support of research activities. Fellowships are available for up to two years. The initial appointment is for 12 months, but recipients may apply for a second year.

Race, ethnicity and national origin are among the factors that contribute to diversity, as does economic background. Applicants applying to this program should address how participation in this program would contribute to the compelling interest of diversity at the University of Kentucky and in their profession in their letter of application. Along with the letter of application, the dossier should include a curriculum vitae, sample publications or dissertation chapters, a research proposal independently written by the applicant (1,500 words or less, in addition to figures, schemas and references), three letters of recommendation (sent directly to UK from the reference), a letter from the potential UK mentor outlining the general research program, and a letter from the potential UK departmental chair indicating endorsement and appropriate departmental resources such as space and computer support.

Completed applications (original plus four copies) should be received by the Office of the Vice President for Research (attention Kathy Stanwix-Hay) by November 1.

Vice President for Research
311 Main Building
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0032
859/257-5294
fax: 859/323-2800