Rachel Rinaldo, Associate Professor, Sociology; Selected as a Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia for 2022-2023
"Participating in the fellowship peer editing process last year was immensely helpful," says Fulbright U.S. Scholar fellowship awardee Rachel Rinaldo, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, as well as the director of CU 麻豆影院's Center for Asian Studies. "It meant that I had another faculty member who would carefully read my drafts and suggest improvements. Reading and reviewing my peers'听work also helped me to reflect on and refine my own arguments. Donna is听an incredible resource for faculty. Working with her, I鈥檝e learned a great deal about how to present my research proposals in ways that are compelling beyond my discipline and how to tailor my ideas for specific grants and fellowships."
Dimitri Nakassis, College Professor of Distinction, Classics;
"I found the NEH fellowship writing program that Donna organized to be enormously helpful to my proposal, both because of specific comments that I received directly from Donna on multiple drafts of my application, and because of the wonderful spirit of constructive criticism that she fostered among the faculty who were putting together their applications, as well as the feedback that I received from my peers," said听Dimitri Nakassis, professor and chair of the Department of Classics, who was recently awarded the NEH Fellowship听for his project on听Reassembling Mycenaean Greece, ca. 1650鈥�1075 BCE. "Donna gave me detailed feedback that improved the style and clarity of my writing but also the clarity of my thought, and most especially she identified key areas of strength and weakness in my application so that I knew what to improve and what to build around."
Brianne Cohen, Assistant Professor, Contemporary Art 鈥� Associate Chair for Art History, Art & Art History;
鈥淭he fellowship peer editing process was incredibly helpful,鈥� agreed听AAUW awardee Brianne Cohen, assistant professor of contemporary art history in the Department of Art and Art History. 鈥淢y colleagues offered me both big-picture insights about my proposal, as well as close readings and revisions for my writing. This kind of interdisciplinary feedback is critical for such nationally competitive grants, and I cannot speak more highly of Donna鈥檚 knowledgeable help throughout the writing and application process. RIO鈥檚 approach encourages you to reuse and recycle your materials for different grants, and I was so thankful to be awarded the and CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 CHA Faculty Fellowship.鈥�
Elspeth Dusinberre, Professor, Classics;
"I couldn鈥檛 have managed the fellowship application process last year without the help of the fellowship writing program. I benefited enormously from Donna鈥檚 expert and valuable suggestions at every step of the way; she helped me improve my various proposals, re-craft them for different fellowships, and also think about additional programs to which I might apply for funding. The peer editing program was also incredibly helpful and resulted not only in much better proposals but also in real friendships with colleagues across campus. Donna鈥檚 guidance in writing proposals geared toward readers outside my field has also helped me think more critically and productively about how best to craft public presentations that are compelling to a broader audience. The work I was fortunate enough to do with Donna and the fellowship writing program has improved my entire professional being and career trajectory." ~Elspeth Dusinberre, Professor, Classics
Emmanuel David, Associate Professor, Women & Gender Studies; Selected as a National Humanities Center Fellow 2022-2023
鈥淢y participation in RIO鈥檚 peer editing fellowship program made a world of difference for me as I prepared my external fellowship applications. I received useful and concrete feedback from the other faculty members in the program, and Donna Axel really helped me shape my proposal with her comments and suggestions. I鈥檝e used my application for several fellowship programs and have worked with Donna to tailor the prose for different funding opportunities. I feel like my application writing skills and my understanding of the entire grant application process have improved immensely thanks to Donna鈥檚 expert advice and close attention to detail.鈥�
Seema Sohi, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies; Selected as a Andrew Carnegie Fellow 2024-2025
"I am immensely grateful for the support and feedback I received from Donna听Axel at RIO.听Donna听worked closely with me throughout the entire application process. Her generative feedback to multiple iterations of my proposal was invaluable. I was deeply impressed and grateful for her incredible skill in helping me identify the central arguments of my project and in helping me to craft a strong application that I felt proud of. Donna听is a gift to the faculty at CU!"