“This fellowship extols Joe’s memory and contributions to the English department, while filling a vital need in our Ph.D. program.”
— Melissa Welshans, Ph.D. candidate and colleague

The Joseph Hughes Memorial Summer Fellowship provides financial support to a Ph.D. candidate in English involved in the dissertation process. Initiated by Ph.D. candidate Melissa Welshans and facilitated by Department of English Chair Dr. Erin Mackie in 2016, the Hughes Memorial Fellowship provides support in a critical moment in the recipient's graduate studies, enabling the fellow to focus on publishing journal articles, preparing for the job market, and completing the dissertation.

The Fellowship serves to memorialize Joseph Hughes, a Ph.D. candidate in the English program from 2008 until his untimely passing in 2013. He is remembered by Mackie as “a highly engaged, ambitious and committed student of literature and history,” and Melissa describes him as “deeply committed to the pursuit of knowledge,” such that “this scholarship honors his memory by giving students the support they need to advance their own scholarly ambitions.” Read the full press release from the College of Arts and Sciences here.