George Washington's Presidential Library Announces New Inaugural Fellowships

For Immediate Release
September 5, 2012

Media Contact:
Melissa Wood (703) 799-5203
mwood@mountvernon.org

George Washington’s Presidential Library Announces New Inaugural Fellowships

Fellowships to Coincide with the Opening of the Library

MOUNT VERNON, VA – Mount Vernon’s Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington announces a call for applications for its inaugural fellowships. The fellowships for short-term and long-term funded residential research will begin at the new Library, set to open fall 2013.  These funded research opportunities focus on the life, leadership, and legacy of George Washington, so that Washington’s example of character and leadership will continue to inform and inspire future generations.

“Mount Vernon’s inaugural fellows will have an extraordinary opportunity to create groundbreaking scholarship in a new state-of-the-art Library,” said Stewart McLaurin, Mount Vernon’s vice president for the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington.

Mount Vernon’s fellowship opportunities are available to doctoral candidates, postdoctoral scholars, college and university faculty, and independent scholars focusing on American history and other related topics. Short-term (up to three months) and long-term (up to six months) applicants will be considered for the 2013 fellowship program. The fellowships will include a stipend, living quarters at the DeVos House, and round-trip airfare or mileage reimbursement for one trip to and from the scholars’ residence. Research may be conducted beginning in September 2013 and should be completed prior to September 2014.  The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2012. For more information, please visit www.mountvernon.org/fellowships.

About the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington:
Located on the picturesque and historic setting of the Mount Vernon estate, the Library will serve as a worldwide repository for expertise about Washington, his achievements, and his legacies. A private, not-for-profit organization, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association is constructing the Library and building its slate of innovative programs without any government funding.

The Library will achieve three important objectives:

• It will store and safeguard the irreplaceable books and letters of George Washington, and enable scholars, students, and other special audiences to conduct important research in a state-of-the-art Library placed in an inspiring environment.
• This Library will also be the international headquarters for a series of assertive and creative outreach programs that will give special attention to students and teachers, and use the latest technologies to keep pace in a rapidly changing world.
• And finally, the Library will host a variety of seminars and training programs with a special focus on Washington’s leadership. In the process, it will become a worldwide resource which ensures that the relevance of our greatest American is not lost somewhere between ivy-covered walls and the digital age.

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Since 1860, over 80 million visitors have made George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens the most popular historic home in America.  Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington’s place in history as “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen.”  Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, America’s oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853.  A picturesque drive to the southern end of the scenic George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon is located just 16 miles from the nation’s capital.

Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September, October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November – February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Regular admission rates: adults, $15.00; senior citizens, $14.00; children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $7.00; and children under age 5, FREE.  Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.