This graduate student fellowship was established by
Raymond J. Tarleton, past executive vice president of APS, with the assistance of APS. The fund supports APS graduate student members in plant pathology to encourage them to further their careers in plant pathology.
The Tarleton Fellowship is given to a deserving APS graduate student member majoring in plant pathology at a university in the United States. The purpose is to support graduate education in plant pathology and can be used as a stipend for research expenses, books, research, summer internships (industry, other research labs, etc.) and/or for equipment necessary to the recipient’s thesis research.
Fellowship amount: $1,000 (1)
The applicant must be enrolled as a full-time, degree-seeking student with a plant pathology major and recognized as a current APS graduate student member.
Recipients of the fellowship should plan on presenting results from the research at a regional or national APS meeting and provide a brief article for publication in
Phytopathology News about the value of the fellowship and how it was used.
Letter of Intent
A cover letter, written by the student, describing their general academic and career goals along with a description of the intended use of the Fellowship (250 word maximum) and why the funding is needed.
Statement of Research
A description of the applicant’s thesis research (3 page maximum)
Vita
A listing of the applicants experience and publications (2 page maximum)
Letters of Recommendation*
Two letters of recommendation from plant pathologists familiar with the candidate's scholarly accomplishment and potential. Letters of recommendation must be submitted separately by the letter writer using the online form by March 15 of each year.
Letter of Recommendation Form
All of the above required materials must be saved into one PDF document and submitted through the online application form on or before the yearly submission deadline of March 15. *As a reminder, your letter of recommendations are to be submitted separately by the letter writers each year by March 15.
Submit Application
Competitive students must demonstrate an excellent academic background, a strong motivation and interest in plant pathology, and intent to join a research program with strong scientific merit, appropriate for the time frame and level of expertise.
The Raymond J. Tarleton Student Fellowship Fund was established by Raymond J. Tarleton in 2009 to support APS Graduate Student Members in plant pathology research and encourage students to further their careers in plant pathology.
Contribute to the Tarleton Fellowship Fund! Your donations may help a student acquire an advanced degree in plant pathology.
As Executive Vice president of APS for 24 years,
Raymond J. Tarleton helped APS become the premier professional scientific society it is today.
In March 1950, Raymond J. Tarleton, a graduate student in the Department of Agricultural Biochemistry at the University of Minnesota, was hired by the American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC International) as a part-time combination technical editor and business manager. Tarleton quickly became integral to the association; so much so that in 1957 Helen Hart encouraged APS President George Fischer to check out a solution to handling journal manuscripts as was being done by AACC Intl. and to investigate a cooperative effort. APS ended up adopting the approach when President Arthur Kelman contacted Tarleton as to his interest in also managing the business affairs of APS, and thus a partnership with AACC was formed. Tarleton first was named technical editor of
Phytopathology in 1964 and then was named executive vice president of both APS and AACC Intl. in 1967. This relationship between the organizations has persisted to the present day and proved to be of fundamental importance to both professional organizations.
Tarleton’s contributions to APS are phenomenal. Throughout his tenure, he oversaw the growth of the society and the staff supporting it. He had the foresight to recommend placement of a new APS/AACC Intl. Headquarters in a suburb of St. Paul, MN, where it has remained since 1971. Tarleton played a key role in initiating the publishing arm of APS, overseeing the publication of the first of the compendia series, the
Compendium of Corn Diseases in 1973, as well as numerous additional publications that led to the formation of APS PRESS. He also was instrumental in the transfer of
Plant Disease Reporter from the USDA to APS and its development as the second APS journal,
Plant Disease, starting in 1980. And he played a major role in the development of an agreement and business plan with the International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions that led to the launch of
MPMI in 1987 as the society’s third journal. As APS grew, Tarleton continually encouraged early adoption of electronic technologies, to gain efficiencies in operations and innovation of products and services. This focus has led to the success of APS’s online publications and communications initiatives. He also played a major role in the formation and launch of the APS Foundation in 1986 and served as secretary of the first APS Foundation board.
His dedication to science and genuine interest in the needs of the membership of the society, allowed him to lead his staff to deliver outstanding member value throughout his tenure. Tarleton retired in 1991, but left behind an ongoing culture of excellence and innovation that continues to this day.
