The Sternberg Family Fellowship in American History was established through the estate of Irma O. Sternberg to allow a rising junior or senior History Major to pursue a self-designed summer research project on American history, as the project relates to the Irma O. Sternberg Overton Park Expressway Collection, broadly defined.
Irma O. Sternberg (1915-2007) was a Memphis activist and member of the advocacy group, Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, who worked to keep Interstate 40 from being built through the center of Overton Park. Litigation led to a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court, Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402 (1971), which ruled in favor of the grassroots organization and halted construction of the expressway.
Research topics related to the Sternberg Collection could include, but are not limited to:
- Law and Legal History
- Environmental History
- Urban History
- History of the US South
- History of Travel and Transport
- History of Grassroots Movements
The Sternberg Family Fellowship includes a $3,300 stipend, housing, and F11 credit to conduct research on a self-designed project. The stipend covers up to 37.5 hours of work/week at $11/hour for eight (8) weeks over the summer.
The research project will result in a final product (written, recorded, visual, or digital) that the Sternberg Family Fellow will present at the Rhodes Symposium in 2027.
The Sternberg Family Fellow will be supervised by a faculty mentor in the Department of History. Any full-time faculty member of the Department of History may serve as a faculty mentor.
Interested students must receive approval from a faculty mentor in the Department of History prior to applying for the Sternberg Family Fellowship.
Eligibility
- Declared History major or History/International Studies bridge major
- Rising senior or rising junior (members of the class of 2027 and 2028)
- Overall minimum GPA of 3.5 and a minimum major GPA of 3.5
To apply, please submit a proposal that is 900-1000 words in length, includes the name of your faculty mentor, and addresses the following questions:
- What specific topic on American history do you intend to explore?
- What question or questions are you seeking to answer?
- How do you plan to explore this topic?
- What is the intended final product?
The priority deadline for applications is Feb 15, 2026.
Apply for the Sternberg Family Fellowship in American History
The recipient of the Sternberg Family Fellowship will be notified in early March.
