Weston A. Cate, Jr., Fellowship

The Vermont Historical Society awards a $1200 fellowship every other year to encourage research in Vermont history. The fellowship was created in honor of Weston A. Cate, Jr., director of the Vermont Historical Society from 1975 to 1985.

The fellowship supports research for one calendar year in any aspect of Vermont history and is open to all individuals. The grantee is expected to complete research and writing on their topic within the period of the fellowship. A final product, normally an essay or research article, is expected at the conclusion of the fellowship period.

Guidelines and application

Any person may apply using the application form supplied by the Vermont Historical Society. Each applicant must request two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with his/her abilities. These recommendations should be mailed directly to the Vermont Historical Society by the writers.

The grantee is expected to have completed the research and writing within one year from the date of the award.

The deadline is May 31st of even numbered years.

Applications will be reviewed and the winner selected by the Collections and Research Committee of the Vermont Historical Society Board of Trustees. The winner will be announced at the VHS Annual Meeting the following fall.

The following criteria will be important in assessing applications:

• In making the fellowship award, the Committee will favor applications that address topics designed to fill research gaps in the state's history.
• The research contemplated by the applicant must stand by itself. Because the Society's purpose is to encourage worthwhile original research in Vermont's history that might not otherwise be undertaken, segments of larger studies may be at a competitive disadvantage.
• Strong preference will be given to applications that cite specific VHS museum or library collections to be used in project research.
• The fellowship is expected to result either in a paper that can be considered for publication in the Vermont History journal or in a product of some other form, which might be appropriate for exhibition or viewing. The fellowship does not guarantee that award recipients will be published in Vermont History.

Electronic submission are preferred: please send the application form, letters of recommendation, and any other supporting materials to steve.perkins@vermonthistory.org.  

2024 application: PDF or Word.

Who was Weston A. Cate, Jr.?

Past winners

For more information about the award, or the application, contact Executive Director Stephen Perkins at director@vermonthistory.org.