President Steven Knapp and Diane Robinson Knapp have made a gift to support George Washington University students’ entrepreneurial drive to make the world a better place.
The Knapp Fellowship for Entrepreneurial Service-Learning – a new endowment that will provide support for students far into the future – will make it possible for exceptional GW students to bring creative concepts into practice, and to do so in ways connected with their academic interests and training.
“Our hope is that this award will help students make a difference,” Dr. Knapp says. “Since arriving at George Washington three years ago, we have been struck by our students’ passion for changing the world and by the imaginative and intellectually serious way in which they harness that passion by developing concrete, innovative projects.”
The award will recognize one or more innovative proposals each year and will provide support for their implementation. Up to $10,000 will be awarded this academic year. Undergraduate and graduate students may apply independently or with a group of students to design and create solutions that will make a significant difference in the lives of others. Awardees will work with the support and guidance of a faculty member on their research and action projects.
GW students have a strong track record for turning their ideas into action. Examples include:
- a sports empowerment program for girls in Uganda;
- fundraising and programming to send low-income D.C. students to the World Cup in South Africa; and
- a summer program that brings disadvantaged high school students to Washington, D.C. for civic leadership education and the opportunity to meet with congressional and policy leaders.
These projects were designed by students to create solutions to the problems they saw in their local and global communities.
“This award can be a catalyst for new ideas and a way for students to turn their education into action,” says Amy Cohen, executive director of GW’s Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.
Students who apply should demonstrate knowledge and innovative thinking about the issue or problem to be addressed. Selection will be at the discretion of the provost, who will review recommendations made by a committee of faculty and representatives from the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.
Once chosen, fellows will work throughout the project with a faculty adviser who will guide research on the issue, implementation of the proposal, ongoing reports and assessments, and a final work of scholarship.
Proposals for the first annual Knapp Fellowship are due Feb. 18, 2011. Funding will be awarded in spring 2011 with the fellowship to begin in summer or fall 2011.