The William T. Grant Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of the latest class of William T. Grant Scholars. These four exceptional early-career researchers have designed rigorous five-year research and mentoring plans that will help them expand their skills, knowledge, and abilities in a new discipline, content area, or method. Each Scholar receives $350,000 over five years and attends annual meetings to discuss their ongoing projects with Foundation staff, select consultants, and each other. The William T. Grant Scholars Program has a 27-year history of supporting early-career researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. One hundred thirty-four Scholars have been named during the history of the program.

“The goal of this program is to identify promising early-career scholars and give them financing, mentorship, and interdisciplinary experiences to make them even better,” said Dr. Robert C. Granger, president of the William T. Grant Foundation.

The William T. Grant Scholars selection process is extremely competitive and unique to our other grant programs. Each year, the Foundation selects four to six Scholars from an applicant pool of approximately 70. Candidates from around the country are nominated by their supporting institutions, and their applications are reviewed by a selection committee composed of prominent senior scholars. A small group of finalists is invited to New York for an interview with the committee.

Applications for 2010 awards are due on July 8, 2009. A brochure outlining the criteria, required documents, and application procedures is available on our website, www.wtgrantfoundation.org. You may also request a hard copy by emailing info@wtgrantfdn.org.

The four new William T. Grant Scholars and their research projects are:

Guanglei Hong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
“Causal Inference Methods for Studying Instruction Effects on Language Minority Students”

Derek Kreager, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University
“Peer Networks and Adolescent Sexual Development”

Candice Odgers, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine
“Macro-to-Micro Contextual Triggers of Early Adolescent Substance Exposure”

Craig Schwalbe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Columbia University
“Social Processes in Juvenile Probation”