A new public service fellowship for environmental work will be available to MIT students early next year.
Sponsored by the MIT Women's League, the Betty Johnson Fellowship will provide $4,400 annually for students to pursue environmental work anywhere in the world. It is named for the former first lady of MIT whose husband, Howard W. Johnson, was president of MIT from 1966 to 1971.
"This is an annual gift to support either one summer fellow in the Public Service Fellowships program, or two IAP fellows," said fellowship coordinator Alison Hynd. IAP is MIT's January Independent Activities Period. "With Betty's blessing, these fellowships will focus on environmental issues, and can be locally, nationally or internationally based."
The MIT Women's League also sponsors the Rebecca McHue Vest Fellowship, which supports female MIT students who focus efforts on women's issues. That fellowship is named for the wife of former MIT President Charles M. Vest, who served from 1990 to 2004.
Both Betty Johnson and Rebecca McHue Vest are members of the MIT Women's League.
The fellowships, which will be available for the 2007 IAP, are open to both men and women.