Description | Application Process | Past Fellows

Description

The Autry Fellowship is a competitive fellowship program for recent college graduates that provides an opportunity for a graduate to work one year as a full-time paid staff member at MDC. The fellowship's goal is to educate the South's future leaders in economic and social justice, thereby perpetuating the work of the late George B. Autry, MDCs founding president, who led MDC for 32 years until his death in 1999.

The ideal Autry Fellow is open-minded and compassionate, curious and reflective, and deeply committed to advancing social equity and opportunity.

Qualifications include:

• the ability to communicate and work with people who have diverse backgrounds and experiences;
• the capacity to understand complex economic and social issues and communicate those issues clearly and persuasively;
• a commitment to MDC's goals;
• prior work or study in a variety of relevant areas, including public policy, education, economic and workforce development, poverty alleviation, sociology, political science, community development, leadership development, Southern studies, social research, or a similar field;
• candidates must be in their final year of undergraduate or graduate study or have graduated within one to two years from any accredited four-year college or university in the South.

To date, there have been eight Autry Fellows. The fellowship will center on learning MDC's approaches and strategies for promoting economic and social justice.

The Fellow will have the option of devoting a portion of time to a project-specific assignment determined jointly by the Fellow and MDC. This strategy allows the Fellow both to continue working within his or her own specific area of interest while becoming engaged with a variety of economic, workforce, and community development issues.

Each Fellow will be assigned an MDC staff mentor based on the Fellow's project assignment. This formal relationship is designed to increase the Fellow's networking opportunities, deepen the Fellow's understanding of project management, and provide a sounding board and guide for the Fellow's post-MDC career explorations.

The application process is competitive. A panel of MDC staff members and Autry family members will review applications and award the fellowship.

Applications for 2008 must be received by February 25, 2008. Top candidates will be notified within three weeks of the deadline and will be invited to interview in late March or early April. The Autry Fellow will be selected immediately following interviews.

The Fellowship will begin in the summer of 2008. To encourage networking among young emerging leaders, each Fellow will be responsible for coordinating the application and review process for the next year's Fellow.

For more information or an application, contact Daniel Bowes, 2007-2008 Autry Fellow, by phone at (919) 968-4531 ext. 317 or by e-mail at dbowes@mdcinc.org.  To download an application, go to http://www.mdcinc.org/about/apply.aspx.