[Carolinas_asist] UNC at Chapel Hill begins recruiting for 2010 Fellowships for ESOPI-21 project

[Wanda Monroe]

The School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is seeking applicants for fellowships for a
new program called "Educating Stewards of Public Information in the
Twenty-First Century" or ESOPI-21. These Fellowships are funded through a
grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

The fellowships will be for students enrolled in the Master of Public
Administration (MPA) and Master of Science in Information/Library Science
(MSIS/MSLS) dual degree program between the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science and the School of
Government.

The two-year fellowships offer:

* A 15 hour per week position as a Fellow in Public Information Stewardship
at the National Records and Archives Administration, the North Carolina
Department of Cultural Resources, Archives & Records Section, and/or the
UNC at Chapel Hill University Archives.

* An annual stipend of $16,000.

* In-state tuition and health coverage

* One time enrichment fund of $2,500 which can be used for travel or other
resources such as a computer.

* Opportunities to meet experts in public information curation via
symposia, conferences and workshops.

As a component piece of the project, two cohorts of four ESOPI-21 Fellows
(eight Fellows in total over the grant period) will each combine coursework
with internship assignments in one or more governmental digital records
environments, leading to a dual master's degree in Information Science or
Library Science and a master's degree in Public Administration. The
program's goal is to prepare the next generation of public information
stewards. It offers Fellowship recipients the opportunity to engage in
government records archiving and curatorial duties and to receive
supervision and mentorship from senior public records experts in various
types of government records management and other information management
settings.

About ESOPI-21
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded project,
"Educating Stewards of Public Information in the Twenty-First Century" or
ESOPI-21, is a collaboration of SILS, UNC at Chapel Hill's School of
Government (SOG), the University Archives (UA) at UNC at Chapel Hill, the
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Archives and Records
Section (NCDCR-ARS), and the U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). ESOPI-21 seeks to prepare the next generation of
public information stewards by building on the Digital Curation Curriculum
IMLS-funded projects at SILS and by developing fellowships, curricula,
courses, and experiential components designed specifically for the needs of
public sector information professionals.

Applying for the Fellowship:
The ESOPI-21 Fellowship is provided to masters level students who are
pursuing the dual degree program offered by SILS and the SOG. Acceptance
into both programs is a requirement for the award. 

Steps for application are:
1. Apply to SILS via the regular admissions process found on the MSIS
Admission page at http://sils.unc.edu/programs/msis/admissions.html or the
MSLS Admissions page at http://sils.unc.edu/programs/msls/admissions.html

Students are encouraged to apply by January 1, 2010 as this ensures
consideration of the greatest amount of university funding, but we are
accepting applications for this program up to February 15.

2. Apply to the SOG via the regular admissions process found on the MPA
Admissions page at http://www.sog.unc.edu/uncmpa/applicants/admission.html.
Students must apply by February 1.

3. In addition to the required written statement of your intended research
focus, we ask that you write a separate essay elaborating on these goals
and how they are related to the goals of ESOPI-21. Please see the ESOPI-21
Web page for more details (http://ils.unc.edu/esopi21/index.html). Please
send this essay in an e-mail message to Dr. Helen Tibbo (tibbo (at) email
(dot) unc (dot) edu) or Dr. Cal Lee (callee (at) ils (dot) unc (dot) edu)
no later than February 15, 2010. Earlier applications are
encouraged. Please note that we are only able to accept applications from
United States Citizens at this time.

*******************************************
Wanda Monroe
Director of Communications
School of Information and Library Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
100 Manning Hall
Campus Box 3360
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360
Phone: 919.843.8337
Web site: sils.unc.edu