The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has awarded fellowships to seven students at the University of Michiganí¢â‚¬â„¢s School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) who show outstanding promise as future leaders in nonprofit or governmental conservation.

Established in 1997, the Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship Program supports graduate students enrolled in master's programs at eight leading U.S. environmental schools. The fellowships provide tuition assistance and cultivate leadership skills through internships, professional and career development programs, and ongoing alumni networking activities.

The 2009-11 SNRE Doris Duke Conservation Fellows (listed with their academic field of study) are: Ria Berns (Environmental Policy and Planning; dual degree, Master of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy); Julian Dautremont-Smith (Sustainable Systems; dual degree, Master of Business Administration, Ross School of Business); Jessica Gorchow (Behavior, Education and Communication); Rebecca Held (Environmental Policy and Planning); Ariel Shaw (Landscape Architecture); Kat Superfisky (Terrestrial Ecosystems and Landscape Architecture); and Tina Tam (Environmental Policy and Planning; dual degree, Master of Business Administration, Ross School of Business).

The students will be recognized at a reception and dinner Wednesday, March 17. The University of Michigan Duke Fellows Program is administered by SNREí¢â‚¬â„¢s Ecosystem Management Initiative.

As one of eight host programs under the Duke program, SNRE normally recommends five candidates to be considered for fellowships. Because extra discretionary funding was available this year, SNRE recommended additional candidates to compete against applicants from the other schools. All seven candidates advanced by SNRE this year í¢â‚¬“ the original five and two additional students í¢â‚¬“ were awarded fellowships.

Since its inception, the Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship Program has supported more than 300 fellows. Several have been named Presidential Management Fellows, a highly competitive national honor; others are employed by such organizations as the World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Nature Conservancy and the federal Office of Management and Budget. The program supports students enrolled at Yale, Duke and Cornell universities; Florida A&M University; Northern Arizona University and the universities of Michigan, Wisconsin and California at Santa Barbara. A national advisory committee oversees the invitation-only university competition.

About the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment:
The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching, and outreach, faculty, staff and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.
http://www.snre.umich.edu

About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation:
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of peopleí¢â‚¬â„¢s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Dukeí¢â‚¬â„¢s properties. The Duke Conservation Fellowship Program is administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.
http://www.ddcf.org/
http://www.woodrow.org/fellowships/conservation/index.php

About the Ecosystem Management Initiative:
The mission of the Ecosystem Management Initiative is to promote sustainable natural resource management through ecosystem-based teaching, research and outreach through a series of interconnected strategies.
http://www.snre.umich.edu/ecomgt/index.htm