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Dawn Venema |
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Jasmine Dayda |
These prestigious Fellowships honor NU graduate students — four students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, two at UNMC and two at the University of Nebraska at Omaha — on the basis of high scholastic performance, personal accomplishment and innovative research projects.
Dawn Venema, a Ph.D. candidate in physical therapy education, and pharmaceutical sciences Ph.D. student Jasmine Davda are the two UNMC recipients of the fellowships.
“The Presidential Graduate Fellowships recognize dedication and excellence among graduate students who are conducting extraordinary research and scholarly activity on our campuses,” Milliken said. “We are fortunate to have a level of private support that allows us to give students the opportunity to concentrate their efforts and complete their graduate work.”
Fellows at UNL each receive an annual stipend of $24,000, and those at UNMC receive $21,000. At UNO, PhD candidates receive $15,000 and MA candidates receive $12,000. Funding for the fellowships is provided through the University of Nebraska Foundation.
Here are short profiles of this year’s Presidential Graduate Fellows:
From UNMC:
Dawn Venema, Omaha, a Ph.D. candidate in medical sciences interdepartmental area: physical therapy education — Venema has worked as a physical therapist at Methodist Hospital, and is now working on a project with a UNMC vascular surgeon funded by the American Geriatrics Society.
Her dissertation research examines balance in individuals with total knee replacement.
Venema has extensive teaching responsibilities at UNMC and twice has been invited to speak at Advances in Geriatric Care Conferences.
She earned her master’s degree at UNMC.
Jasmine Davda, Omaha, a Ph.D. candidate in pharmaceutical sciences — Davda was invited to spend much of the summer of 2006 at the Ely Lilly Co. in Indianapolis, based on her extensive research into monoclonal antibodies.
She has presented her work at local and national meetings such as the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, as well as co-authoring several respected publications.
Davda is a graduate of the University of Mumbai in India and earned her master’s degree at UNMC.
From UNL:
Tonia Compton, Lincoln, a Ph.D. candidate in History — Compton’s general field of expertise is women’s history with emphasis on the 19th century, and her dissertation deals with how marriage in the American West served as a primary vehicle for controlling land ownership.
She is a founding member and executive chair for the Graduate Student Association at UNL, and currently serves as vice president of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. A graduate of Columbia College of Missouri, Compton earned her master’s degree at Texas A&M University.
Jehanne Dubrow, Lincoln, a Ph.D. candidate in English — Dubrow received a Fling Fellowship in 2006-07 and she focused her time on professional development, which included creating, editing and designing a special issue for the magazine, Prairie Schooner dedicated to the concept of “yidishkayt,” meaning Jewishness.
Now developing a proposal that extends the concept to a book-length anthology, Dubrow also has completed a book of Holocaust poetry and been published in many prestigious literary journals.
She earned her master’s degree at the University of Maryland.
John D. Burton, Lincoln, a Ph.D. candidate in physics and astronomy — Burton currently is a research assistant whose interest lies within the broad field of theoretical solid state physics, research that has potential applications in information technology.
He has done extensive collaborative work with Seagate Technologies Corporation and has already published seven papers, all in highly regarded international physics journals.
His ultimate career goal is to continue basic research with technological applications.
Amber Epp, Omaha, a Ph.D. candidate in business — Completing final requirements in the marketing doctoral program, Epp’s primary research interest is family identity enactment and management.
Selected as representative for the 2006 AMA Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium, Epp also received the Marketing Department Award for Excellence in Research by a Graduate Student and served as president of the Marketing Doctoral Student Association.
A graduate of Hasting College, Epp earned her master’s degree at UNL.
From UNO:
William McCarty, Omaha, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Criminal Justice– McCarty, a former co-president of the Graduate Student Organization in Criminology and Criminal Justice at UNO, is a graduate research assistant at UNO in the Nebraska Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, and wrote his dissertation examining the social structural characteristics and individual traits related to criminal behavior.
McCarty is a graduate of Creighton University and earned his master’s degree at UNO.
Joel Thomas, Omaha, a master’s degree candidate in English — A graduate of UNO, Thomas currently serves as a graduate teaching assistant in the English department at UNO, as well as a consultant for the Metropolitan Community College Writing Center.
In his role as president of the English Graduates Organization, he coordinates academic and social support for his colleagues.
The creative nonfiction field interests him most, and he is working on several projects for publication.