Sterling and Gene Munro Public Service Fellowship
The Sterling and Gene Munro Public Service Fellowship encourages life-long commitment to public service by providing outstanding undergraduates with the opportunity to explore their potential through service and leadership in the community. Munro Public Service Fellows are selected on the basis of a proposed public service initiative and their commitment to community engagement.
Selection Timeline
Fellows will be selected during November/December 2012 and be awarded the fellowship during the Winter and Spring quarters of 2013.
Benefits
Award amounts range from $2000 to $4000, depending on the number of fellows selected.
In addition to a monetary award, Munro Fellows are also supported through a two-quarter community-based leadership seminar (weekly meetings during Winter and Spring 2013) and individualized advising about their community involvement by staff in the Carlson Center.
We expect that fellowship applicants will be actively engaged in their community project throughout Winter and Spring quarters.
Deadline to Apply:
Applications for the 2013 Fellowship are due by 11:59PM on Thursday, November 8, 2012.
Application Instructions:
There is no application form for the Munro Fellowship. A complete application packet will include:
- A cover sheet that includes applicant’s name, student number, and contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email address).
- A brief essay (maximum 800 words) responding to these questions:
- What you have learned about public service and leadership through previous involvement in your community?
- What project will you undertake as a Munro Fellow? What difference will it make? How is your project informed by what you have already learned about leadership and public service?
- A current University of Washington transcript (unofficial).
- A letter of support from a community partner or mentor who will work with you on the project. This letter should include a description of the community-based project, the kinds of support you will receive from your mentor (or partner organization), and the anticipated impact the project will have in the community.
Email application materials as attachment(s) to leader@uw.edu on or before November 8, 2012. Questions about the fellowship or application status can be addressed to Kathryn Pursch Cornforth at leader@uw.edu.
A small number of applicants will be invited for an interview on Thursday, November 29th; we ask all applicants to hold time on this date until otherwise notified.
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Munro Public Service Teaching Award
Thanks to a generous gift from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, the S. Sterling Munro Public Service Teaching Award will be given annually to a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in community-based instruction, including service learning, public service internships, and community partnership projects.
Learn more about the Munro Public Service Teaching Award, including who is eligible, how to make a nomination, and the selection procedure:
http://www.washington.edu/uaa/teachingacademy/awards-munro
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Background:
Made possible through the support of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, the Fellowship is named for S. Sterling Munro, Jr., the former top aide to the late Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson and Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, and his wife, Gene, a lifelong public service advocate.
During his 25 years of public service to Washington State and the nation, Sterling Munro was extensively involved in natural resources legislation, playing an instrumental role in creating the North Cascades National Park, and contributing to the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Environmental Protection Act, and the Youth Conservation Corps Act. Munro also served on the board of directors of the Henry M. Jackson foundation and the board of trustees of Central Washington University. He also served as Vice President of John Nuveen Investments. David Olson, the 2005 Munro Public Service Teaching Award Recipient, had some kind words to say about S. Sterling Munro at the UW Recognition Ceremony.
A native of Wenatchee, Washington, former English teacher and Cherry Blossom Princess, Gene Munro was the daughter of Victor and Vada McMullan. Victor was a rancher and political activist in Chelan County. Vada was Victor’s political partner and later was the first woman to serve as Postmaster of Wenatchee. Gene grew up in an atmosphere of activism and public service, eventually going to work as a secretary in Senator Jackson’s office, where she met Sterling. As a mother and homemaker, Gene was very active in her childrens’ schools and taught English and remedial reading part-time. She was a generous giver and participant in numerous local and national causes. In Wenatchee, Gene served for many years as secretary for the Chelan County Democrats. Recognizing the importance of encouraging public service, Gene authorized the Jackson Foundation and the Carlson Center to establish the Sterling Munro Fellowship upon Sterling’s death in 1992. In 1995, she donated Sterling’s Jackson-era papers to the University of Washington to enhance the University’s Jackson papers collection and further establish Sterling’s legacy of service. Upon Gene’s death in 2007, the Munro Fellowship was appropriately re-named the Sterling and Gene Munro Public Service Fellowship.
Both Sterling and Gene Munro demonstrated through out their lives what it meant to be stewards of public service. They did this while at the same time nurturing a large family whose members each were inspired and taught the value of giving back for the greater good. A passion for service and a balance of work, play, and family commitment fosters an atmosphere where great things are possible. We all can inspire others and be examples to the next generation of public servants so they may also carry the torch and leave this world a better place.
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