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The Thomas J. Watson Foundation is a charitable trust formed 1961 in honor of former chairman and CEO of IBM,
Thomas J. Watson Thomas John Watson Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) was an American businessman who served as the chairman and CEO of IBM. He oversaw the company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956. Watson developed IBM's manageme ...
. The Foundation's stated vision is to empower students “to expand their vision, test and develop their potential, and gain confidence and perspective to do so for others.” The Watson Foundation operates two programs, the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship. The two programs were based in Providence and New York City, but in 2006 the two fellowships were united in New York.Schram, Lauren Elkie
“As 50th Anniversary Approaches, Nonprofit Signs Deal to Move to Woolworth Building”
‘‘
Commercial Observer Observer Media is an American online media company. The company was formed through several acquisitions, including acquisition of ''The New York Observer'' in 2007. Observer Media is based in Lower Manhattan, New York City, and was owned by busi ...
’’, November 27, 2017. Retrieve 2018-04-27.
In 2018 the Watson Foundation celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The Foundation moved into its new offices in New York's Woolworth Building that same year.


Thomas J. Watson Fellowship

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a grant that enables graduating seniors to pursue a year of independent study outside the United States. 1968 was the Fellowship's first year, providing graduates with a year to "explore with thoroughness a particular interest, test their aspirations and abilities, view their lives and American society in greater perspective and, concomitantly, develop a more informed sense of international concern". In 2018, the fellowship celebrated its 50th anniversary. In that time, over 42,000 students submitted applications, and nearly 2,000 fellowships were awarded, making the fellowship similarly selective to the
Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
or
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
Scholarships. Unlike those programs, only undergraduates in their senior year at 41 colleges are eligible to apply.


Background

The fellowship itself grants recipients money to spend one year traveling in pursuit of their projects. Recipients are forbidden from reentering the United States and their home country for one year. Projects are not academically oriented, as the fellowship is intended to encourage exploration and new experiences rather than formal research. Currently the award is $36,000 per fellow or $46,000 for a fellow traveling with a spouse or dependent. The stipend also provides student loan repayment for the duration of the fellowship. The Watson Foundation emphasizes that the grant is an investment in a person rather than a project. During their travels the Fellows remain unaffiliated with a college or university, instead planning and administering their projects themselves. They are barred from working on a paying job, and are discouraged from joining organized volunteer projects for substantial periods of time.


Selection criteria

Qualities sought in fellows include: Leadership, Imagination, Independence, Emotional Maturity, Courage, Integrity, Resourcefulness, and Responsibility. Institutions eligible to nominate Watson Fellows are 41 select small liberal arts colleges with an undergraduate population of fewer than 3,000 students:


Notable Watson Fellows

*
Layla AbdelRahim Layla AbdelRahim is a Russian-Sudanese comparatist anthropologist and anarchoprimitivist author, whose works on narratives of civilization and wilderness have contributed to the fields of literary and cultural studies, comparative literature, ph ...
, comparatist anthropologist and author *
David Abram David Abram (born June 24, 1957) is an American ecologist and philosopher best known for his work bridging the philosophical tradition of phenomenology with environmental and ecological issues. He is the author of ''Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cos ...
, cultural ecologist and philosopher * Jay Allison, independent public radio producer * Nancy Bekavac, former president of Scripps College *
Iram Parveen Bilal Iram Parveen Bilal is a Pakistani-American filmmaker, activist and entrepreneur. In 2020, her latest feature film I'll Meet You There debuted at South By Southwest (SXSW) in narrative competition. Early life Bilal was raised in Pakistan, and ...
, filmmaker and entrepreneur *
Kai Bird Kai Bird (born September 2, 1951) is an American author and columnist, best known for his works on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, United States-Middle East political relations and his biographies of political figures. He won a Pul ...
, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and columnist * Lynn J. Bush, American Federal Senior Judge *
Gloria Borger Gloria Anne Borger (born September 22, 1952) is an American political pundit, journalist, and columnist. Borger is the chief political analyst at CNN. Since joining CNN in 2007, she has appeared on a variety of their shows, including '' The Si ...
, CNN political commentator * Ian Boyden, painter * Roberto Castillo, novelist, short fiction writer, translator and essayist * Peter Child, professor of music at
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
and composer in residence with the New England Philharmonic *
Tom Cole Thomas Jeffery Cole (born April 28, 1949) is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party and serves as Deputy Minority Whip. The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fr ...
, U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma *
Nicolas Collins Nicolas Collins (born March 26, 1954 in New York City) is a composer of mostly electronic music, a sound artist and writer. He received his BA and MA from Wesleyan University, and his PhD from the University of East Anglia. Upon graduating from ...
, composer of mostly electronic music *
Howard Fineman Howard David Fineman (born November 17, 1948) is an American journalist who is global editorial director of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group. Prior to his move to Huffington Post in October 2010, he was Newsweek's chief political corresponde ...
, Huffington Post and MSNBC political analyst *
John Garang John Garang de Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) after the Second Sudanese Civil War, the comprehensive peace agreeme ...
, late Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army and Vice-President of Sudan * Yishay Garbasz, Artist and Activist. *
David Grann David Elliot Grann (born March 10, 1967) is an American journalist, a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and a best-selling author. His first book, '' The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,'' was published by D ...
, American journalist and best-selling author * Aracelis Girmay, American poet *
Alia Gurtov Alia Gurtov is an American paleoanthropologist who is known for being one of the six Underground Astronauts of the Rising Star Expedition. Education Gurtov attended Wellesley College, majoring in French and anthropology. In 2006, she was g ...
, American paleoanthropologist *
Dan Hammer Dan Hammer is an environmental economist and winner of both the inaugural Pritzker Award and the Mark Bingham Award for Excellence in Achievement by Young Alumni at UC Berkeley. He is a National Geographic Fellow, and served as the Senior Policy ...
, environmental economist and winner of the inaugural Pritzker Award *
Tori Haring-Smith Tori Haring-Smith is the former president of Washington & Jefferson College. Education Haring-Smith received a bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and doctoral and master's degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a ...
, president of Washington & Jefferson College *
Corey Harris Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic ...
, blues and reggae musician and MacArthur Fellow. * Garrett Hongo, Pulitzer-nominated poet and academic *
Barbara Higbie Barbara Higbie (born 1958) is an American Grammy nominated, Bammy award winning pianist, composer, violinist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has played on over 100 CDs including songs with Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt. Th ...
, jazz and traditional musician *
Edward Hirsch Edward M. Hirsch (born January 20, 1950) is an American poet and critic who wrote a national bestseller about reading poetry. He has published nine books of poems, including ''The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems'' (2010), which brings toget ...
, poet, president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation * Jackie Diamond Hyman, American novelist and reporter *
Pat Irwin Pat Irwin (born May 17, 1955) is an American composer and musician who was a founding member of two bands that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s, the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy. He joined The B-52s from 1989 through 200 ...
, composer, musician, and former member of the B-52s *
Cleveland Johnson Cleveland Thomas Johnson (born November 3, 1955) is an American academic, administrator, music historian, and early-music performer. He retired as President/CEO of the Morris Museum (Morristown, New Jersey) in 2022. Previously, he was Director of t ...
, Director, National Music Museum *
Mat Johnson Mat Johnson (born August 19, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American fiction writer who works in both prose and the comics format. In 2007, he was named the first USA James Baldwin Fellow by United States Artists. Life and career John ...
, writer * Ian Kerner,
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
bestselling author * Raffi Khatchadourian, American journalist *
Verlyn Klinkenborg Verlyn Klinkenborg (born 1952 in Meeker, Colorado) is an American non-fiction author, academic, and former newspaper editor, known for his writings on rural America. Early life and education Klinkenborg was born in Meeker, Colorado and raised ...
, author and
Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the a ...
* Jimmy J. Kolker, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda (2002-5) and Burkina Faso (1999-2002) * Chris Kratt, Host of
Wild Kratts ''Wild Kratts'' is a live action/ Flash-animated educational children's television series created by the Kratt brothers, Chris and Martin. The Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Media Group produce the show, which is presented by PBS Kids in t ...
and other educational nature shows *
Edwin M. Lee Edwin Mah Lee (Chinese: 李孟賢; May 5, 1952 – December 12, 2017) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco from 2011 until his death. He was the first Asian American to hold the office. Born in ...
, mayor of San Francisco * Joe Lewis, former dean of
UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** ''University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the t ...
Claire Trevor School of the Arts The Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA, Claire Trevor) is an academic unit at the University of California, Irvine, focused on the performing and visual arts. The four departments housed in the school are for art, dance, drama, and music. ...
*
Jason Mantzoukas Jason Mantzoukas (, el, Ιάσων Μαντζούκας; born December 18, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series ''The League'', and as one of the th ...
, actor and writer * Mark Stephen Meadows, American artist and entrepreneur *
Jonathan Meiburg Jonathan Meiburg is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater. Biography Meiburg was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 1, 1976. His father, Stan Meiburg, was an influential environmental pol ...
, lead singer and principal songwriter for the band Shearwater * Michael Noer, executive news editor at ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' *
Dan O'Brien Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992. Early life O'Br ...
, playwright and poet * John Payton, civil rights attorney * Peggy Pettitt, American actor, dancer, and storyteller * Steve Raichlen, BBQ chef, author, and
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
cooking show host * Eric Rosengren, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston * (Suzanne Seriff), Folklorist, cultural anthropologist, museum curator *
Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer, violinist, and singer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices'' and the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporar ...
, 2013 Pulitzer Prize for music * David Shipley, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' Op-Ed Editor * John Siceloff, American television producer *
Alan Solomont Alan D. Solomont (born 1949) is the former United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra. He was selected for the post by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 29, 2009. Early life and education Born to a Je ...
, U.S. Ambassador to Spain (2009 - 2013) *
Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...
, Oscar-nominated, Emmy- and Tony Award-winning director *
Francisco Valero-Cuevas Francisco Javier Valero-Cuevas (born 1964) is an engineer of Mexican origin, and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering at t ...
, engineer and scientist * Reetika Vazirani, American/Indian poet * Madhuri Vijay, novelist, author of ''The Far Field'' * Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran, President of Kalamazoo College


Directors of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship

*Chris Kasabach, 2011-2012 *
Cleveland Johnson Cleveland Thomas Johnson (born November 3, 1955) is an American academic, administrator, music historian, and early-music performer. He retired as President/CEO of the Morris Museum (Morristown, New Jersey) in 2022. Previously, he was Director of t ...
, 2008-2011 *Rosemary Macedo, 2006-2008 *Beverly J. Larson, 2003-2006 *Norv Brasch, 2001-2003 *
Tori Haring-Smith Tori Haring-Smith is the former president of Washington & Jefferson College. Education Haring-Smith received a bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and doctoral and master's degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a ...
, 1999-2001 *Noreen C. Tuross, 1997-1999 *William F. L. Moses, 1995-1997 *James A. Lehman, 1993-1995 *Mary E. Brooner, 1991-1993 *Steven V. Licata, 1989-1991 *Martin A. Brody, 1987-1989 * Nancy Y. Bekavac, 1985-1987 *Joseph V. Long III, 1883-1985 *Jeanne C. Olivier, 1981-1983 *David C. Summers, 1979-1981 *John C. Elder, 1977-1979 *Daniel L. Arnaud, 1972-1977 *Robert O. Schulze, Founding Director, 1968-1972


Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship

In 1999, the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship was created to expose undergraduate students to work through three successive summer internships and mentorship. The fellowship is a competitive academic grant made each year to fifteen undergraduates nominated by 12 affiliated New York City colleges which provides successive summer experiences for three years, stipends, mentoring, seminars, and discovery fund. The fellowship is named after Jeannette K. Watson, the first female member of the IBM Board of Directors, and wife of
Thomas J. Watson Thomas John Watson Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) was an American businessman who served as the chairman and CEO of IBM. He oversaw the company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956. Watson developed IBM's manageme ...
. During their first summer, Jeannette K. Watson Fellows intern at a New York City based partner, while the second and third summers can be in New York City, anywhere else in the United States, or overseas. Over the three year fellowship, fellows must go overseas at least once. Fellows are awarded three successive annual grants of $5,500, $6,500, $7,000 in addition to a $2,000 discovery fund. Fellows have gone on to win prestigious awards like the
Harry S. Truman Scholarship The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic ...
, the
Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...
, and
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, founded by Paul Soros and Daisy Soros in 1997, is a United States postgraduate fellowship for immigrants and children of immigrants. In 2021, the Fellowship received 2,445 applications and aw ...
. They have also gone on to graduate school at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, and the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
.


Selection criteria

Qualities sought include high standards, ambition, openness, desire to explore diverse cultures and new professional fields, willingness to act on feedback, leadership, ability to work in groups, integrity and accountability, and a strong academic record. The following 12 partnering colleges nominate up to four candidates to be considered in a citywide selections process.


Eligible institutions

*
Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates unde ...
* Brooklyn College * City College of New York *
College of Staten Island The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a public university in Staten Island, New York. It is one of the 11 four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studie ...
* Hunter College *
John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts ...
* Lehman College * Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus *
Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...
* Pace University Manhattan * St. John's University * Queens College


History

The Fellowship was established by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation in 1999. Its founding Director, the late
Alice Stone Ilchman Alice Stone Ilchman (April 18, 1935 – August 11, 2006) was an American academic administrator who worked as the eighth president of Sarah Lawrence College from 1981 to 1998. Early life and education Ilchman was born in Cincinnati to Donald Cr ...
, former President of Sarah Lawrence College and Elizabeth Buckner, former Board of Advisors member, developed the original idea for the Fellowship and began working with eight colleges. Frank Wolf, its second director, served from 2006 until his retirement in 2012. Dean Emeritus of the School of Continuing Education at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, Wolf extended participation to four additional New York City colleges and expanded substantially the Fellowship's internships in the for-profit sector. In 2012 the Foundation combined the directorships of its two programs with the appointment of Chris Kasabach as the Executive Director of the Thomas J. Watson Foundation.


Directors the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship

*Sara Nolfo, 2016–present *Frank Wolf, 2006-2012 *Alice Ilchman, Founding Director, 1999-2006Fox, Margali
“Alice S. Ilchman, 71, Economist Who Headed Sarah Lawrence, Dies”
‘‘
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
’’, August 16, 2006. Retrieve 2018-04-27.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Official Site
1961 establishments in New York (state) Charitable trusts Scholarships in the United States Education in New York City Internship programs