The fellowship is a one-semester appointment for a scholar-in-residence. It is designed to provide human rights practitioners doing “on-the-ground” work at some level of personal risk a respite from front-line duties to enable them to reflect, write, and communicate their work to the campus community.

For the 2011 fellowship, we seek a frontline human rights activist who works on problems created by or associated with poverty. The activist will come from outside the United States, and will take up residence at Colby College in the fall of 2011.

In this call, we highlight our concern about the physical and emotional violence, the potential loss of security and dignity, often associated with deprivation. Our next Oak Fellow will work to promote human rights threatened by poverty. Such rights include but are not limited to: the right to work in safe conditions and earn an adequate and stable income; access to basic food and shelter; freedom from forced evictions; access to adequate health care and medical attention; access to basic services and infrastructure; the right to a healthy and safe living environment, including access to clean drinking water; access to education; freedom from discrimination based on class or income.

We especially encourage applications from those who are currently or were recently involved in on-the-ground work at some level of personal risk and are in need of respite.

The appointment is for the fall semester of 2011 (September through mid December). Responsibilities include participation in a lecture series or symposium in the Fellow’s area of expertise and regular interaction with Colby students through a one credit non-graded discussion class. The College provides a stipend of $32,000, plus transportation, housing, health care coverage, and other fringe benefits. We encourage the fellow to bring family through limited financial support for their travel as well.

Please submit applications for the fellowship no later than December 15, 2010. Please submit nominations of human rights practitioners for the fellowship no later than November 1, 2010. The Oak Institute will contact nominee(s) and encourage him or her to apply; nominee(s) can also apply directly. Your nomination letter(s) will become part of the applicant’s file, underscoring your recognition of this person’s important contributions to human rights.

For more information and application materials, please access the Oak Institute’s web page; see the frequently asked questions sidebar to clarify terms and eligibility. For further information, please contact Director Walter Hatch at the below contact information or the Assistant Director at oakhr@colby.edu.

Application Deadline: December 15, 2010