The Susan Lipschutz Fund for Women Graduate Students was established to honor the memory of Dr. Susan Lipschutz, former Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. Many people in the university community esteemed Susan Lipschutz as a valued colleague, mentor, and friend, and as an advocate committed to the support of women students as they pursued their doctoral degrees. The Susan Lipschutz Fund recognizes and supports promising women scholars.

Margaret Ayers Host received a Rackham degree in 1942. She studied at Oxford, was President of the Alumni Association, Chair of the Alumnae Council, member of the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics, and a member of the Rackham Board of Governors. The Margaret Ayers Host Award was established to honor her remarkable contributions as a woman scholar and to the University of Michigan community.

Ella Smith Avery made a gift in 1938 in order to honor the memory of her mother and to support women graduate students at the University of Michigan. According to the terms of the gift, the Anna Olcott Smith Fellowship Endowment is intended to aid women graduate students who show “promise of the development of useful original ideas.”

Nominees must be women actively pursuing a doctoral degree who have achieved candidacy by the application deadline. Students may receive this award only one time.

SEAS Application Process: Students interested in being nominated must complete the application link https://tinyurl.com/476dms24 no later than 9:00 AM on Monday, November 10th, 2025. The SEAS Scholarship Committee will review applications for the fellowship. Once decisions have been made, applicants will be notified of their status. Non-compliant submissions will not be reviewed.

• Student's statement (1,500 words maximum) which must address:
  • Research
  • Future goals
  • Contributions to the success of women in the academic community
• Current CV
• Arrange for a faculty member to support your request by sending a nomination statement (1,500-word maximum) by 9:00 AM on Monday, November 10th, 2025, to Mark Romanowski, [email protected], describing why you would be appropriate for nomination, including a description of your achievements, sense of social responsibility, and interest in the success of women in the academic community.