Graduate Fellows Program

The Institute recognizes certain graduate students at major research universities as having exceptional abilities, interests, and leadership potential in environmental stewardship by designating them “Au Sable Graduate Fellows.”

Au Sable Graduate Fellows are granted funds for the purchase of books and reference materials on Christian environmental stewardship and work with faculty and other Graduate Fellows at their university to keep their understanding of Christian environmental stewardship at a level commensurate with other aspects of their study and research.

Au Sable Graduate fellows meet regularly at their university location for “Integrative Sessions”, modeled after the Integrative Sessions of the Institute’s academic sessions, at which they and supportive university faculty present seminars to each other on Christian environmental stewardship themes. These meetings explore particular Christian environmental stewardship topics in depth and emphasize the integration of the graduate fields of study represented with Christian environmental stewardship. Periodically, the Au Sable Graduate Fellows meet for seminars and discussions across the various universities where Graduate Fellows groups have been established. Currently this program is located at three universities and, through the initiative of graduate students and faculty, this number is being increased. These three universities are:

Cornell University. Au Sable Graduate Fellows at Cornell are coordinated by Dr. Gary Fick, Professor of Agronomy, with meetings held in Annabelle Taylor Hall. Interested Cornell graduate students and faculty may contact him at gwf2@cornell.edu or reach him by telephone at 607-255-1704.

The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Dr. Rolf Bouma coordinates the Au Sable Graduate Fellows at Michigan where he serves as the Campus Chapel's pastor for Academic Ministries. Graduate students and Michigan faculty may contact him at rbouma@umich.edu or 734-668-7421.

University of Wisconsin-Madison. Wisconsin Graduate Fellows are coordinated by Dr. Peter Bakken who heads the Outreach Office of Au Sable in Madison, Wisconsin. Information on this Fellows group is available from Dr. Peter Bakken at bakken@ausable.org or 608-663-4610.

Au Sable Graduate Fellows receive a fellowship stipend of US$100 per semester (for Ph.D. students) or US$50 (for Master's Degree students) explicitly for the purchase of books and reference materials on Christian environmental stewardship. These publications are to enable them to maintain their education and research in Christian environmental stewardship at a level comparable to that of their graduate study and research in the university. Au Sable Graduate fellows also meet regularly for exploration of particular Christian environmental stewardship topics in depth and emphasize the integration of Christian environmental stewardship with the Fellows' fields of study.