The length of the Cunningham Fellowship

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Subject: [MLAICS-L] The length of the Cunningham Fellowship
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:28:35 -0500
From: Donna Flake
Reply-To: Donna Flake
To: MLAICS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU


Dear ICS Members,

I think the Cunningham Fellowship period should be lengthened to 4 months again. Currently MLA has 2 Cunningham Fellows and they are each in the US for 3 weeks, and one week is MLA week. This is much too short a period for the Cunningham Fellow to get accustomed to our culture, much less learn the many library functions which is the goal of the Cunningham Fellowship.

I have had lot of experience with the Cunningham Fellows, having hosted at least 6 of them, been on the itinerary committee multiple times, and chaired the Cunningham Taskforce in 1999 and 2000. From discussions with former Cunningham Fellows, the current practice of a 3 or 4 week stay is not enough time.


I know at our ICS Business meeting in Philadelphia in 2007, we had a lively discussion about this. According to our minutes of this meeting "Carla Funk noted the fellowship will continue with the current three week stay for one more year before a decision could be reached to change the duration of the fellowship."

What do other ICS members think?

Donna Flake, Library Director
Robert M. Fales Health Sciences Library
SEAHEC / South East Area Health Education Center
2131 South 17th Street / PO Box 9025
Wilmington, NC 28402-9025
Phone: (910) 343-2180 Fax: (910) 762-7600
Email: Donna.Flake@seahec.net