Since clubs often do not know how to handle applicants for Global Grant and Peace Fellow Scholarships, we centralized most of this into a district role with a chair and committee members.  That way, a club only has to send any applicant to the Chair and most communication, mentoring and paperwork will be done by the chair and the committee.  The referring club, however, will still get to act as a host and consider the scholar (if selected) as “their” scholar.  The club can also send someone to participate in the interviews. The interview committee consists of the current DG or Foundation Chair (or both), PDG’s, the District Chair for GG and PF scholars, the committee and past GG or Peace Fellows when available.  Interviews now occur at different dates for the two types of scholars, usually February (for Global Scholars) and May (for Peace Fellows).
 

 

 

Global grant scholarships fund graduate-level coursework or research for one to four academic years.  In district 6250, we have decided we will only fund Masters’ degree candidates and not PHD work.  Interview in district 6250 occur in March annually. Our district usually funds only one scholar each year as the cost is $15,000 of district funding which is matched by Rotary International for a total scholarship amount of $30,000. Scholars must plan to pursue a course of study in one of the six areas of focus spelled out by Rotary International (RI), and their graduate-level educational goals should support this career interest.  Pursuing a career in an area of focus means the scholar has a long-term commitment to measurable, sustainable change.  The 6 focus areas include:
 

  *Peace and conflict prevention/resolution

  *Disease prevention and treatment

  *Water and sanitation

  *Maternal and child health

  *Basic education and literacy

  *Economic and community development
 

A key feature of global grants is the partnership between the district or club in the study location (host sponsor) and the district or club in the scholar’s home country (international sponsor).  Global grant scholars from our district must be pursuing a degree outside of our country at an international sight. The candidate must apply and be accepted into a university of their choice as long as it aligns with one of the focus areas of study. For detailed information:

 

Peace Fellow candidates do not cost our district anything.  We can endorse and advance as many as we feel are outstanding candidates.  This is a very competitive scholarship with only 50 candidates selected each year worldwide for the master’s degree program in Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution and 50 for the Professional Development Certificate.  Unlike the Global Grant Scholarships where the candidate selects their own university and focus area, Peace Fellows attend one of 5 Peace Centers in the world:

  * Duke University & University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

  * International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan

  * University of Bradford, Bradford, England

  * University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

  * Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

  * Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

 

Again, it is up to all Rotarians to get the word out about this program. When a candidate applies for a Peace Fellowship (PF), they either come to a club or Rotary district and ask for application information in hopes of finding a host club, or a candidate can apply directly to Rotary International and RI then notifies the district of the candidate. In District 6250, referrals should go to the District Chair for GG and PF scholarships, so the applicant can be assigned a “mentor” to help them through the process, since many clubs are not equipped as yet to do this.  All application materials are gathered online and submitted to both RI and to the interview committee. This committee conducts interviews in May and can include a “host club” that referred the candidate to the district. Following interviews, an endorsement form is filled out either endorsing or not endorsing a candidate.  Those that receive a district endorsement, then start a 3 to 4 month process of review by RI and the respective Universities of choice by the applicant.  The selection is usually done in October and the candidate begins school the following September of the next year.  In the case of Professional Development candidates, he/she may begin in the January three month session of the next year.  The University then handles all arrangements and finances for the applicant and the only role of the Rotary club/district is communication with the scholar and occasional financing of attending a conference. For detailed information:  www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/peace-fellowships 

 

A District can fill out paperwork online with RI to agree to accept “At Large” PF applicants.  These are candidates that may come from anywhere in the world and do not have a Rotary Club or Rotary district to host them and help mentor them through the  application process.  Our district 6250 accepts “At Large” candidates who may require a much greater degree of “mentoring” since English is a second language.  We have endorsed candidates from Africa, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Vietnam and have had 1 PF from the US who will graduate soon; 1 Professional Dev. candidate who just graduated and 1 PF candidate from Vietnam who will begin studies at Duke in July of 2018.