Newly launched fellowships will fund UC students who plan to work in high-need California public schools, the University of California Office of the President announced today (March 22).
The President’s Educator Fellowships will help students with significant financial need to participate in UC’s top-flight educator preparation programs – the Governor’s Teacher Scholars program and the Principal Leadership Institute program.
“These fellowships will help promising UC-prepared educators focus on becoming the exceptional teachers and principals that California youth deserve,” said UC President Janet Napolitano. “It’s a wise investment in educators who will spark young imaginations and get students on a path toward college.”
For 2016-17, UC will allocate $320,000 to the Governor’s Teacher Scholars program on the eight undergraduate campuses where there are teacher educator programs and $300,000 to the Principal Leadership Institute programs at UCLA and UC Berkeley. The money will be divided proportionally to the number of students participating in each of the programs.
The Governor’s Teacher Scholars and Principal Leadership Institute programs started in 1999. Designed to recruit and prepare educators grounded in the latest education research, the programs help highly skilled teachers and principals meet the academic needs of California’s diverse student population.
“Financial hardship shouldn’t hold any student back from joining UC’s signature educator preparation programs,” said UC Provost Aimée Dorr. “These fellowships help students participating in programs known for their commitment to and success in preparing outstanding educators for young Californians.”
The Office of the President has provided supplemental funding for the programs from their inception – the only graduate programs across the system to have consistently received annual supplemental funding in this way.
Fellowship recipients will be students committed to working in California public schools that serve students from low-income families.
The Department of Diversity & Engagement in the UC Office of the President will administer the fellowships. Each program will choose the fellowship recipients and report to the Office of the President on the results of the fellowships awarded.