TAYLOR/BLAKESLEE FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW) has announced the recipients of this year’s Rennie Taylor/Alton Blakeslee Graduate Studies Fellowships. The fellowships provide up to $2,000 to both professional journalists and students of outstanding ability who have been accepted into graduate-level programs in science writing. The recipients are:

Sarah Goforth, who is completing graduate work at the University of Wisconsin. Goforth writes for The Why Files.

Czerne Marvolette Reid, who has been accepted into the UC Santa Cruz science writing program. She leaves a teaching assistant position at Emory.

Jessica Snyder Sachs, who will be attending the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. A freelance writer, Sachs writes for Popular Science, Parenting, and National Wildlife Magazine, and was previously a science writer at the University of Georgia.

Kelly Elizabeth Young, who will be attending the Boston University School of Journalism. She was a space reporter for Florida Today newspaper.

Support for the fellowships derives largely from a special bequest made to CASW by the American Tentative Society (ATS), which for three decades played an important role in promoting public understanding of science and the scientific process. The fellowships honor the memory of Rennie Taylor, a science writer for the Associated Press, whose estate provided funds for the establishment of ATS, and Alton Blakeslee, AP science editor, who served as longtime president of ATS.

Applications for next year’s fellowships will be accepted until July 1, 2004. Journalists with at least two years of mass-media experience will receive preferential treatment in the selection process. Students must have undergraduate degrees in science or journalism and must convince the CASW selection committee of their ability to pursue a career in science writing for the general public. For more information, contact Diane McGurgan at diane@nasw.org.

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