Fellowship fund created in honor of first Ph.D. recipient

The Dr. Eiji Asada Research Fellowship Fund has been established to support short-term, research-related travel by advanced graduate students in the humanities.

The fellowship fund has been endowed to honor the memory of Eiji Asada, the recipient of the first Ph.D. awarded by the University. A native of Japan, Asada came to Chicago when his abilities in Semitic languages and biblical studies captured the attention of William Rainey Harper, the University's first president.

After receiving his doctorate in June 1893, Asada returned to Japan and began a career in education and administration, founding the English Department at what was to become the Tokyo School of Foreign Studies and writing the first English textbook used by Japan's education ministry. Several of Asada's descendants attended the University's convocation in June 1993 to mark the centenary of his doctorate.

"This will be a wonderful way to help support the needs of our graduate students," said Philip Gossett, Dean of the Humanities Division, "and it will simultaneously honor a distinguished graduate whose travel to this country brought such honor to our university."

Two fellowships of $3,000 will be awarded each academic year to students whose doctoral research requires them to travel abroad for specific research projects that can be achieved within a limited period of time, typically about one month. The awards are not to be used to supplement grants from other sources.

The fellowships are intended primarily for students in the Humanities Division, although students in the History Department and the Divinity School may also apply. Preference will be given to those whose research requires travel to East Asia. To be eligible for consideration, a student must be a Ph.D. candidate in her or his program at the time of application.

Applications for support of travel anticipated for the 1994-95 academic year must be submitted to the Dean of Students in the Humanities by April 1, 1994.

For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students in the Humanities at 702-8498.