The fellowships are awarded to graduate students at eight selected universities who show outstanding promise as future leaders in nonprofit or government conservation in the United States.

Created in 1996 by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, based in New York City, the fellowship program seeks to improve the quality of people’s lives by preserving natural environments, nurturing the arts, seeking cures for disease and helping to protect children from abuse and neglect.  The fellowship program is now administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

To date, Doris Duke Conservation Fellowships have been awarded to more than 70 Nicholas School students who are pursuing Master of Environmental Management or Master of Forestry 91ÉçÇø¸£Àûs. Selected by the school, fellows receive up to $32,000 to support tuition, a public-sector conservation internship and career development activities.

In addition, mini-grants of up to $2,500 per campus are available to foster educational activities such as skills training or lecture series featuring conservation practitioners. These activities are initiated and directed by the Doris Duke Conservation Fellows but need not be for their exclusive benefit; other students can benefit as well.

The 2008-09 Doris Duke Conservation Fellows, along with their program of study at the Nicholas School, are:

Ashley Adams of Helena, Mont.; ecosystems science and conservation;

Mallory Lykes Dimmitt of Clearwater, Fla.; environmental economics and policy;

Kylan Frye of Westlake, Ohio; ecosystems science and conservation;

Wendy Goyert of Vineyard Haven, Mass.; coastal environmental management;

Jamie Harkins of Allentown, Pa.; environmental economics and policy;

Andrew McConville of Tolland, Conn.; environmental economics and policy; and

Elizabeth Ann Poser of Brookfield, Wis.; ecosystems science and conservation.