ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell Public Service Center is currently seeking applications for the fourth annual Cornell Civic Leaders Fellowship Program. This initiative enables the Cornell Public Service Center to initiate collaborative relationships between Cornell University and the local community, and it allows the center to award $5,000 to each selected fellow.

The Cornell Civic Leaders Fellowship Program seeks to accomplish the following:

• Support leaders -- both within and outside the academy -- who possess the knowledge, skills, competencies, values, morals and wisdom to provide stewardship to critical institutional and community problem-solving efforts.
• Foster university and community practices that encourage greater commitment to community building, grassroots organizing and social responsibility.
• Strengthen and build regional university-community collaborative relationships (project impact can be local, national or international).
• Support community leaders as they reflect on past practices, plan for the future, and enhance capacities of their communities, as well as contribute to instructional and research activities, as available.

Application requirements are as follows:

• Longstanding history of community involvement.
• A history of involvement or interest in developing relationships with university students.
• Residence within Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga or Tompkins counties.
• Submission of a proposal that addresses a community need or problem, which the fellow would research during the fellowship.
• Submission of a report of the findings at the end of the fellowship.

Recipients may use the $5,000 to support travel, housing, sabbatical leave expenses, community project expenses or sponsoring agency support. In addition, the fellowship will provide each chosen fellow with a variety of university support systems and access to other resources to enable the fellows to attain the goals of their project proposal, while achieving a true university-community partnership.

A committee consisting of faculty, university administrators, and community leaders will select fellows. Fellowship applications for the 2004-05 academic year are due Monday, June 28. The selected fellows will be announced the week of July 19.

Contact the Cornell Public Service Center at (607) 255-1148 or cupsc@cornell.edu for further information or to receive an application. The application is also available online at the Cornell Public Service Center's Web site at http://www.psc.cornell.edu under the "What's New" category.