The Fourth Biennial Jane Austen Scholar-in-Residence Grant

In 1975, at the death of Alberta Hirshheimer Burke, a Goucher alumna of the Class of 1928, Goucher College received the extraordinary Jane Austen collection that she and her husband, prominent Baltimorean Henry Burke, had acquired over a period of forty years. This nationally-recognized collection consists of Austen first editions, rare period publications related to the life and landscape of rural England, and Alberta Burke’s own notebooks of Austen-related memorabilia and correspondence with Austen collectors and scholars.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the collection, Goucher College established the competitive Jane Austen Scholar-in-Residence program in 2000.  The residency offers the selected scholar a week to research Goucher’s Austen collection, work with related undergraduate classes, and present a public lecture on an Austen-related topic.  The grant also provides a $1,000 stipend, travel expenses and accommodations.

Applications for the 2007-2008 academic year are due by April 17, 2007.  Interested scholars should send a vita, research and lecture proposal, and two confidential letters of recommendation to Nancy Magnuson, College Librarian, either electronically to nmagnuso@goucher.edu or in hard copy to Julia Rogers Library, Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Baltimore MD 21204. 

For an overview of the Burke Austen collection, see https://www.goucher.edu/x10707.xml.  For additional information or to request an electronic copy of the finding aid to the collection, please contact Special Collections Librarian and College Archivist Gail McCormick at gail.mccormick@goucher.edu

Media Contact
Nancy Magnuson
College Librarian
nmagnuso@goucher.edu
410-337-6364