Guidelines for Fellowship Applicants
Selection, Expectations, Stipend, Supervision and Living Arrangements
Application
Selection
Each September an announcement of the forthcoming Fellowships is made to accredited schools of landscape architecture, as well as to various industry associations, journals and periodicals.
Applications from qualified students enrolled in an accredited landscape architecture or equivalent program such as landscape or architectural history, archaeology, historic preservation, or horticulture, are accepted until March 1 by:
The Garden Club of Virginia Fellowship Committee Chairman
Kent-Valentine House
12 East Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23219
804-643-4137
A committee consisting of members of The Garden Club of Virginia, professional landscape architects, practitioners in the field of horticulture and historic preservation, and educators, review the applications. The top finalists are often invited to Richmond, at The Garden Club's expense, for an interview.
A final selection is made and the Fellows are notified by March 15th.
The selected Fellows sign an agreement with The Garden Club of Virginia in which each party agrees to its responsibilities related to the Fellowships. A Garden Club appointed site selection committee chooses historically significant sites for the fellowships.
Expectations
The Fellows will spend a period of three months living in Virginia, visiting, researching and documenting the committee-selected historic sites and keeping a daily log of their work.
The Fellows will submit present-day photos of the site in the log as well as a listing of all research material consulted in their efforts to uncover the history of the gardens and landscape of their sites.
Mid-way through the Fellowship, the Fellow will present their initial findings to the Garden Club's Restoration Committee.
Using a topographical survey as a base, the Fellows will produce measured drawings of the current condition of the site to be placed in an archive of historic gardens in Virginia.
Finally, the Fellows will document their complete findings on the history of the sites in a written report also to be included in the historic Virginia gardens archive. All Fellowship drawings and documents are the property of The Garden Club of Virginia. Original drawings are housed at the Virginia Historical Society. Copies are given to Alderman Library at the University of Virginia and the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg.
The Garden Club of Virginia encourages the Fellows to visit other significant gardens and landscapes within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Members of the Garden Club's Restoration Committee will assist in arranging such visits during the Fellowships.
Stipend
The Fellows will each be paid a total of $6,000 for three month's work and the completed projects. Once the contract agreements are signed, the Fellows will each be given an advance of $500. On the day the Fellowships are commenced, another $500 will be paid. At the start of the second and third month, $1,000 will be paid. Upon completion of the Fellow's work, the remaining $2,000 will be paid.
The Garden Club will also pay for living facilities and travel expenses incurred with the work. The Fellows will be required to pay for food, phone, and all other personal expenses and are expected to provide their own autos during the Fellowship.
Use of a work station will also be available for each Fellow including a drafting table and computer with CAD software at the office of the landscape architect for the Garden Club in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Supervision and Living Arrangements
The Fellows will perform required work under the indirect supervision of the landscape architect for The Garden Club of Virginia, William D. Rieley, of Rieley & Associates. The Fellows shall meet with Mr. Rieley at agreed-upon intervals to discuss the progress of the Fellowships.
The Fellows will make their own living arrangements and may choose where in Virginia to live during their Fellowships based upon individual circumstances.