English Instructor Allison Smith Receives Doctoral Fellowship

English instructor Allison Smith of Russell County, Ky., has been awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Appalachian College Association for the 2009-10 academic year.

COLUMBIA, Ky. - Allison Smith will have an exciting 2009-10 school year. The Lindsey Wilson College English instructor has been awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Appalachian College Association for the 2009-10 academic year.

"It means a lot to have one's research validated with a fellowship," said Smith, who recently served as coordinator of LWC's writing center. "Having the support of the ACA and Lindsey Wilson College makes the process more gratifying and allows me to solely focus on my scholarship."

Smith, a doctoral candidate at University of Louisville in rhetoric and composition, was chosen from a competitive field of applicants by a review committee of graduate school deans from the ACA's affiliated research universities - universities of Kentucky, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tennessee-Knoxville and Virginia; West Virginia University; and Virginia Tech University.

The $30,000 fellowship allows Smith to take a year off from teaching and administrative responsibilities to research and write her doctoral dissertation. Smith's research is about the reciprocal effects of writing centers on basic writers. 

After she finishes her dissertation, Smith will be awarded a Ph.D. and then return to Lindsey Wilson to join the English faculty as a full-time assistant professor of English.

Smith said she is elated that she will get to continue at Lindsey Wilson after she finishes her graduate work.

"While I've enjoyed working on my Ph.D., I look forward to completing my degree," said Smith, a Russell County High School graduate and resident of Russell County, Ky. "I'm excited to continue my work with student writers at Lindsey Wilson College."

The ACA includes 37 private liberal arts colleges in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Its goal is to promote education, ideas, services and collegiality among the institutions that serve the people of Appalachia.