The Goizueta Foundation, founded by Roberto C. Goizueta (former Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company), established The Goizueta Foundation Graduate Scholars Fund to enhance the education and skills of graduate students committed to improving Latino education. The Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE), housed in UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education, administers The Goizueta Foundation Graduate Scholar program and trains and supervises the outstanding graduate students from departments across UGA who are awarded the assistantships. Scholars are expected to contribute to the educational improvement of underrepresented groups in the U.S. after graduate school.

THE AWARD

This position will receive a 1/3-time College of Education graduate research assistantship, paid over ten months. In addition, students awarded these assistantships are eligible for a reduced tuition rate, paying only $25 per semester plus student fees. The Goizueta Foundation Graduate Scholars work with CLASE 13 hours per week starting at the beginning of the academic year, to support Center research and outreach projects. GA activities can include but are not limited to:

● Supporting the CLASE professional development activities

● Supporting CLASE’s outreach activities

● Conducting literature reviews

● Grant writing to support CLASE’s activities

● Data collection and analysis to support CLASE’s research

● Preparing papers and presentations from CLASE research

● Presenting at conferences

● Supporting CLASE’s social media presence

● Performing administrative tasks to support CLASE as needed

As part of their work activities, Awarded Graduate Assistants work in collaborative teams that offer them structured support while providing them with opportunities to investigate, discuss and apply the theories and practices which are the foundations for our research on reducing the academic achievement gap for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Assistantships are awarded for one year, and may be renewed based on funding availability, excellent performance and satisfactory progress towards their degree.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible students are current or incoming graduate students (preference given to doctoral students) who have been admitted by the award deadline to the UGA Graduate School and a graduate program in any college at the University of Georgia and who have:

● An outstanding academic record

● Interest/expertise/experience in Latino education and/or potential and intent to contribute to Latino education in the United States during graduate school and afterwards.

● Bi/multilingual or proficiency in Spanish and/or Portuguese preferred

● Citizenship, permanent residence, family in the U.S., or other strong indication of intent to remain in the U.S. following graduation preferred

● Preference given to students whose graduate studies align with CLASE’s strategic goals

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

New Applicants must submit electronically as a single .pdf, the following materials:

● A letter of interest describing how the applicant meets the eligibility and selection criteria (including Spanish proficiency, academic goals/department, and commitment to Latino education/outreach)

● Letter of interest should reflect how the student believes they could contribute to and benefit from CLASE’s mission and current projects and goals

● A current resume/CV with contact information

● Two letters of recommendation with contact information

Materials should be compiled in the order listed above and saved as a single Adobe Acrobat file, and named with the applicant’s last name(s), first name and “Goizueta” separated by underscores (for example, Martinez-Sanchez_Maria_Goizueta.pdf) and submitted electronically to: http://grad.uga.edu/goizueta.

Reference letters may be submitted separately to CLASE via email to Dr. Paula Mellom at pjmellom@uga.edu - with “Goizueta Graduate Assistantship Reference” and applicant’s full name in the subject line.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

Priority for these awards will go to students based on the following criteria:

● Interest in Latino education, culture, and related research

● Strength of academic record

● Strength of applications and departmental and professional references

● Strong commitment to and potential for positively impacting the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners in the United States after completion of graduate school as scholars and/or professionals

NOMINATION DEADLINE AND TIMELINE

All nominations for new candidates should be submitted electronically to http://grad.uga.edu/goizueta by 5 pm on February 25, 2022. Applications will be reviewed and select candidates will be interviewed (in person or by phone) in March/April. Students will be informed of a decision by no later than April 14, 2022.

Please direct any questions regarding these assistantships to, Dr. Paula Mellom, Interim Director of CLASE, at pjmellom@uga.edu.