Notice: There are two (2) review periods for the Mary Jo Small Staff Fellowship Award. Applications submitted by February 28th will be reviewed and announced in March; and applications submitted by August 31st will be reviewed and announced in September. Please review all information for complete details! The review of applications does not begin until after the submission deadline, and the review committee typically does not meet until 2 or 3 weeks after the submission deadline, to allow enough time to review application materials thoroughly. Award decisions are always announced prior to the end of September and March, and typically sooner.

The Mary Jo Small Staff Fellowship is an award that University of Iowa staff members may use to help defray costs associated with regional, national, or international meetings or workshops, as well as a variety of other non-academic professional development opportunities on and off-campus.

Eligibility and Criteria

• All Professional and Scientific and Merit staff members who hold a regular appointment of 50 percent or greater and have been currently employed for two or more consecutive years at the University (with no breaks in employment) by the submission deadline, are eligible for the Mary Jo Small Staff Fellowship.
• Selection for the awards will be based upon documentation of recognized contributions which support the University's mission and goals.
• Staff must be continuously employed at the time of, and during the duration of, the event/activity in order to be reimbursed, if awarded.

Application and Selection Process

• The electronic application is located within Employee Self-Service. Select the Personal Tab, and select the Mary Jo Small Application located under Learning & Development.
• Complete the application, attach the required documentation, and submit through workflow to UI Learning & Development.
• The application is open all year, with two (2) award periods annually.
  • Applications submitted by the February 28 deadline will be reviewed and announced in March.
  • Applications submitted by the August 31 deadline will be reviewed and announced in September.
• Events that have occurred prior to a submission deadline will not be funded.
• You may apply during each award period in a given year, but applications do not carry forward from one review period to another. For example, if you were denied funding in one review period, and wanted to be considered again in the next review period (for the same or different event), you would need to resubmit your application materials. 
• Applicants who have been awarded a Mary Jo Small Staff Fellowship any time in the previous three (3) years will be reviewed after other applicants (if funding is still available).
• Applications must be on time and properly completed.
• All recipients will be chosen by the selection committee chaired by the Learning & Development Manager and appointed by the Staff Council Committee on Committees. This committee will be comprised of Merit and Merit Supervisory Exempt/Confidential, Faculty, and Professional and Scientific representatives including the current Secretary of Staff Council.
• Letters of support (not to exceed three) will greatly impact the selection process. Applicants may request up to $1500 for the award.