Selection Process
Receipt of Applications
Applications and letters of recommendation must be postmarked by Friday, February 1st, 2008 or submitted through the online application system by midnight.
By March 3rd, 2008, applicants will receive an email from the Fellowship acknowledging receipt of their application.
Applicants sending applications by mail may choose to include a self-addressed postcard with their application if they wish to receive acknowledgement sooner.
Review of Applications, Selection Committee
During February and early March, applications are reviewed by the program’s Director, Associate Director, and selection committee. The committee is representative of Columbia University faculty, Revson alumni, and external reviewers from relevant fields in the New York area. The names of selection committee members are not released during the selection process; they are announced each spring, after the new cohort of Fellows has been accepted, at the annual Alumni Dinner.
Interviews, Nomination, and Induction
In mid-March, between twenty and thirty selected finalists will receive an invitation to interview with the Selection Committee. Finalists will be contacted by email or phone and will be offered an opportunity to talk to program staff about how to prepare for the interview.
By late March, applicants who are not selected as finalists will receive notification by mail or email.
In late March or early April, all finalists will be interviewed by the committee.
Within a week of their interviews, ten finalists and one alternate will be selected and will be notified by phone or email.
Because the program wishes to respond to all applicants in a timely fashion, we ask that nominees be prepared to accept the Fellowship when it is offered. If a nominee requires an extended interval, he or she may take up to a week to accept or decline the Fellowship.
Beginning in early May, newly selected Fellows start participating in selected program activities. They attend the annual Alumni Dinner in early May and are formally inducted into the Fellowship at that event. New Fellows also participate in a one-day orientation that occurs in May, and in 1-2 meetings over the summer to prepare for their Fellowship year.
The Revson year was an opportunity to recharge mental and spiritual batteries, to deepen my own understanding of important issues at what turned out to be a crucial time in our history, and to do so in the company of committed co-conspirators in the quest for peace and justice. It brings the enormous resources of a great university to the Fellows and time to reflect on how we can best utilize that knowledge to make a better New York City and world.
