Perry Watkins Fellowship
The University of Michigan Law School established the Perry Watkins Fellowship as a means to ameliorate the effects of the Solomon Amendment. The Fellowship is named in honor of Perry Watkins, a courageous and openly gay military officer who challenged the exclusionary precursor to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, won reinstatement to the Army. The Perry Watkins Fellowship will be awarded to a qualified student who obtains a summer internship working on behalf of LGBTQ rights. In recognition of their selection, the Fellow will receive a $4,000 cash award.
Congratulations to the 2012 Perry Watkins Fellow
Betsy Fisher
In order to be considered for the Perry Watkins Fellowship, you will need to: (1) Complete the application form, (2) Submit a copy of your resume, and (3) Submit an essay answering the following question (in 750 words or less): Please explain what type of work you hope to do this summer and how it will further your career goals.
Your resume and your response to the essay question must be submitted in one PDF to Alyson Robbins, Public Interest Director, at alyr@umich.edu. Your completed application (application form, resume, and essay) is due by February 24, 2013 at 11:59 PM. Applicants do not have to have a position secured before applying for the Fellowship.
The Dean's faculty committee will select applicants based on demonstrated commitment to LGBTQ issues and public service, in general. The committee will consider factors such as your past experiences (academic, volunteer, and professional), contributions you have made to the MLaw Public Interest Community, your career goals, how the work you propose to do this summer will further those goals, and your depth of understanding of the relevant public interest issues.
Fellows must obtain a qualified placement by May 24, 2013, which must be approved by the Public Interest Director.
To be eligible for the full $4,000 award, the Fellow may not earn more than $6,000 from all sources of funding (including other University of Michigan funds) for the summer.
Fellos must work full-time for a minimum of 10 weeks with a non-profit organization and the work performed must be on LGBTQ legal issues, non-partisan, and supervised by an attorney.
Perry Watkins funding may be considered taxable income even if a W-2 is not issued. This should not be construed as tax advice, however, and we encourage you to consult with a tax advisor for more information.
Students interested in receiving Law School funds for a summer or post-graduate position outside the United States must consult with the Office of Career Planning regarding University-required paperwork that must be completed before funds can be released. Further, the University's International Travel Policy lists University Travel Restricted Destinations, and activities in these destinations are not eligible for University funding. Because the list of Travel Restricted Destinations is subject to change, students should be aware that it is possible that funding is not ensured, and should therefore keep in close contact with OCP about potentially affected destinations.
At the conclusion of the summer, the Fellow must submit a summary for Public Service Network that includes the contact information of the organization for which the Fellow worked, a description of the duties performed, and an evaluation of the job experience.
If you have any questions about the Perry Watkins fellowship, you can reach Alyson Robbins, Public Interest Director, at alyr@umich.edu or 734.764.0546.