All News Releases By Date

EPA Administrator Johnson awards undergraduate fellowships to students at Spelman College

Release Date: 11/01/2007
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, EPA Media Relations, (404)562-8421

Spelman College receives highest number of GRO Fellowships in the Nation

(Atlanta, Ga. – Nov. 1, 2007) – On Wednesday, October 31, 2007, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen L. Johnson presented four undergraduate fellowships from EPA's Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) program totaling $166,000 to students at Spelman College, a historically black college in Atlanta, Ga. The 2007 fellowship awardees are: Terri Ambrose, Juandalyn Coffen, Akosua Dosu and Elan Mitchell.

Spelman College received four out of the 15 undergraduate fellowships given across the nation that will provide tuition support for students in environmental fields.
GRO students receive support for their last two years of undergraduate study and an internship at an EPA facility during the summer between their junior and senior years. Most GRO recipients have gone on to work in the environmental field, and a number now work for EPA.

Atlanta, for example, could benefit from the work of GRO fellow, Akosua Dosu, from Washington, D.C. She will work on sustainable or green urban planning in Atlanta that will have a direct effect on water. More green space (parks and trees) in a city provides better air quality, uses less energy by countering the urban summer "heat island" effect, and prevents runoff of chemicals into lakes and streams.

Spelman College is a private, independent, liberal arts college for women founded in 1881. More than 2100 students from 41 states and 15 foreign countries attend the college, which was recently named number one among all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by U.S. News & World Report.

The GRO fellowship program helps build capacity in universities with limited money for research and development by awarding fellowships to students in environmental fields, and supports some of the nation's most promising undergraduate and graduate degree candidates in environmental studies. More than 100 applicants competed this year for 29 GRO fellowships.

EPA relies on quality science as the basis for sound policy and decision-making. EPA's laboratories, research centers, and grantees are building the scientific foundation needed to support the Agency's mission to safeguard human health and the environment.

Application information: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2008/2008_gro_undergrad.html

List of the winners of this year’s GRO fellowship awards, and more information about these fellowship programs: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/fellow/recipients/gro_undergrad_fellow07.html