UA News

The Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowship goes to UA doctoral degree candidates who have nearly completed their dissertations.

Students in the final stages of preparing their dissertations are often taxed and left with little funding.

That is why the Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellows program was established through a partnership with The University of Arizona's Graduate College.

On Tuesday, six new fellows were named during a luncheon and awards ceremony held on the University campus. The event will be held at noon in the Student Union Memorial Center.

The Marshall Foundation, which owns most of the property at Main Gate just west of the UA campus, donates funds to the program, providing UA doctoral degree candidates with much needed funding to finish their dissertations, said Maria Teresa Velez, associate dean of the UA's Graduate College.

"This is the last push," said Velez, who will moderate during the luncheon. The fellows will also present their work during the event.

To earn a fellowship, students must have had their dissertation approved by their committee with plans to complete their doctoral dissertation within one year of earning the award, according to the award qualifications. Also, students must demonstrate a financial need.

The fellows receive a stipend amounting to $10,788. They also receive a tuition scholarship for two semesters at the UA.

All of the six fellows are Arizona residents, doctoral degree candidates and have maintained at least a 3.5 GPA. Each is working on the final phase in the final year of his or her dissertation.

The fellows for spring, through fall 2009, are:

Ida Rose Florez is in the UA's educational psychology program. Her dissertation is titled "The Relationship of Instructional Method to Undergraduate Prospective Teachers' Learning, Cognitive Processes, Affect and Decision Making Skills." Her research could lead to improving the way childhood educators are prepared, Velez said.

Keith Lombardo is in the UA's geography department. Lombardo's dissertation title is "Multi-century Reconstruction of Southern California Chaparral Fire History Using Fire-scarred Big Cone Douglas Fir."

Roland E. Marmon is in the UA's American Indian Studies program and is researching an American Indian tribe – the Turtle Mountain Chippewa. Marmon's dissertation title is "Last Card Played; An Alternative History of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Treaty of 1892."

Lezlie C. Moriniere, a doctoral degree candidate in arid land studies, has titled her dissertation "A Well-Founded Fear of Climate Extremes: Tracing the Footprint of Environment Migrants."

Matthew J. Scholz is in the UA's agriculture and biosystems engineering program. His dissertation title is "Microbial Biofuel Cogeneration." Scholz is studying an approach to generating economically viable alternative energy sources using yeast and algae in a complementary process that produces both bioethanol and biodiesel.

Rachel Wilhite is in the epidemiology program at the UA's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Wilhite's dissertation title is "Chlamydia Pnuemoniae: A Novel Approach to the Etiological Processes of Inflammation in Lung Function and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease in African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study."