Please check back in late August/early September 2024 for updates on the 2024-2025 Public Voices Fellowship application and details. The below information represents the application process from previous years and is subject to change.
Public Voices Fellowship Details
The program typically includes:
- Five interactive Thought Leadership Seminars designed to expand thinking and amplify expertise
- Dedicated editorial support between seminars from a designated OpEd Project mentor and editor
- A vibrant DePaul community of past and present fellows, providing opportunities to work with colleagues from across campus and collaborate on writing opportunities
More details on program features:
Public Voices Fellows will convene for a total of five seminars throughout the year: an initial 3-day seminar (“Foundations of Thought Leadership”) that begins the fellowship and explores how ideas and individuals become influential through high stakes scenarios and Socratic dialogue; and two mid-year, one-day seminars which are designed to stimulate cross-pollination of ideas, find connections between participants’ areas of focus and current news hooks, and generate concrete results (in the form of published op-eds/blog posts, TV and radio appearances; speaking opportunities, expert citations in the media, and more).
In between each seminar, dedicated OpEd Project editors will be assigned to oversee the group, providing individual coaching and feedback by phone and e-mail, and holding regular check-in conference calls designed to encourage and support participants in reaching their thought leadership goals. They will edit, support, look for news hooks, provide individual feedback and encouragement, and otherwise help participants succeed. DePaul has had seven successful cohorts come through the OpEd Project Public Voices Fellowship program so far, with fellows publishing on average two to three op-eds each, in addition to other media appearances.
Program Dates
Five Thought Leadership Seminars will meet on dates to be determined throughout the academic year.
Public Voices Fellowship Application
Please check back for the 2024-2025 Public Voices Fellowship application. The application is subject to change.
The application form will not allow you to save answers and edit at a later date. Prepare your answers in advance using the list below so that you can complete the application in one sitting.
If you have questions, please contact Carolyn Bronstein, professor of Communication and founding faculty director at
cbronste@depaul.edu, or Craig Klugman, professor of Health Sciences and faculty director of the OpEd Project Public Voices Fellowship Program at
cklugman@depaul.edu.
Application Questions
Please check back for the 2024-2025 Public Voices Fellowship application questions. Questions are subject to change.
Personal Information
- Full name
- Department and college affiliation or university office affiliation
- Faculty or staff appointment at DePaul:
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DePaul faculty appointment including appointment status and specialization (e.g., associate professor of Biology, with tenure; research and teaching in visual systems: genetics of visual system tuning; physical modeling of color signals)
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DePaul staff appointment including title and brief description of role (e.g., assistant director, athletic academic advising; work with student athletes to maximize their academic potential by providing time management training, tutoring, registration assistance and other academic support services).
- Email address
- Phone number
- Please provide a 200-word (or less) professional bio that describes your area of research or scholarship, and any major publications or professional recognitions.
- Attach a current CV or resume.
Questions
- In 300 words or less, please describe why your research, scholarship or professional expertise is of public value and how it might inform the important conversations of our day. Why do you seek a public voice? What do you hope to achieve or communicate?
- If you are accepted into the program, can you attend all four program gatherings (dates appear above)? We expect all participants to attend all four gatherings.
- If you are accepted into the program, do you commit to write (with the support of the program) two op-ed essays? We hope that all participants will submit these op-eds for publication, with significant OpEd Project support.
Application Review
Please check back for the 2024-2025 Public Voices Fellowship application review process, the below is subject to change.
Each application is reviewed by a committee of DePaul Public Voices alumni who represent a range of colleges and offices at DePaul. Applicants are reviewed first in terms of their relative strength in their respective college pools, e.g. compared to other applicants from their own colleges. Later, they are reviewed with the composition of the larger cohort in mind, taking into account the need to balance membership across the university, and to ensure the potential for effective “cross-pollination.” That is, we look for fellows across the university who are working on similar types of issues, or whose knowledge and/or expertise reveal interdisciplinary connections and potential for collaboration.
Some factors that contribute positively to a successful candidate profile include, but are not limited to:
- Potential to contribute diversity to the pool, which includes such demographic characteristics as race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation, as well as ideological diversity.
- For faculty, those with senior status, e.g. full professors and associate professors and long-term instructors receive some preference, but all full-time faculty are eligible and can be selected.
- For staff, those situated in research or policy-related roles, whose work demands significant expertise in higher education and/or social and public issues, will be ideal candidates, although all staff members are eligible and can be selected.
- The greatest weight in selection is placed on the applicant’s admission statement and the ability to state clearly, without using academic jargon and language inaccessible to a general reader, why she, he or they want to have a public voice. An applicant’s ability to link research and/or expertise to specific, current social issues and to explain why their perspective is valuable in clear language is an important indicator of readiness to begin the program. As stated above, the potential for “cross-pollination” in the composition of the cohort as a whole is also an important determining factor in fellow selection.
This process is a qualitative and holistic one, and demand for participation in the OpEd Project typically exceeds capacity. Not all qualified applicants will be selected to participate. However, applicants not selected this year are encouraged to apply in subsequent program years.