Background
The Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources at Texas Tech University is pleased to present the Helen DeVitt Jones Graduate Fellowship. Helen DeVitt Jones was a member of one of the great ranching families of West Texas. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and later returned to Lubbock where she immediately began investing in Texas Tech University to fulfill her vision of bringing a better life to students of all ages, races, and needs.

Objective
The purpose of the Jones Fellowship is to develop the capacity of future researchers and teachers in an agricultural and natural resources context. Graduate students from all academic units in the College will benefit from the Foundation's generous endowment. These academic units currently include Animal and Food Sciences; Plant and Soil Science; Landscape Architecture; Natural Resources Management; Agricultural and Applied Economics; and Agricultural Education and Communications. Additional academic units within the College may be added by action of the Davis College Research Committee. This fellowship will be used to recruit high quality, outstanding new students into a graduate program in Davis College. Current students may apply, but preference will be given to incoming, new graduate students.

Responsibilities of Jones Fellows
Jones Fellows must be enrolled as full-time students and be in residence during the tenure of the fellowship. Jones Fellows should be pursuing a doctoral degree or a Master's degree with intent to pursue a doctoral degree at a later date. Jones Fellows are expected to be enrolled in fields of study related to or directly affecting agriculture and natural resource management on the South Plains of Texas. Jones Fellows will be expected to participate in volunteer projects benefiting the community, region, and/or agricultural and natural resource industry.

Value & Duration
The current award for a Jones Fellow is $10,000 per academic year (an academic year consisting of Fall and Spring Semesters plus the following two Summer Sessions). Master's students will be funded for up to two consecutive academic years, and doctoral students will be funded for up to three consecutive academic years. Receipt of a Jones Fellowship will not preclude the recipient from participating in other research or teaching assistantships within the University or from being employed by the University or another organization on an hourly wage basis.

Method of Award
Starting in 2003, one or more awards of the Jones Fellowship may be made each year, depending on availability of funds. The number of awards to be made in any given year will be announced by the Davis College Research Committee.

• Each academic unit (Animal and Food Sciences; Agricultural Education and Communications; Natural Resources Management; Plant and Soil Science; Agricultural and Applied Economics; and Landscape Architecture) within the College may submit a maximum of two candidates each year to the Davis College Research Committee for consideration as Jones Fellows.
• The merits of these candidates will be evaluated by the Davis College Research Committee, which will produce a list of all the candidates ranked in order of their relative merit. Starting at the top of this list and working down, the Davis College Research Committee will submit to the College for approval a number of potential recipients sufficient to fill the number of Jones Fellowship awards to be made that year.
• Should any individual selected by this procedure to receive a Jones Fellowship decline the award, the Davis College Research Committee will submit a replacement selected from the ranked list of candidates. This replacement will be the candidate with the highest relative merit not previously submitted to the College as a potential recipient.

Eligibility
Each academic unit will determine the eligibility of applicants for selection as Jones Fellows. However, the eligibility of any potential applicant within any of the academic units of the College will not be determined based on age, race, sex, citizenship, country of origin, or physical capabilities. Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply for a Jones Fellowship.

• Prospective students applying for admission to the graduate program are eligible to apply for a Jones Fellowship, as are graduate students already enrolled in the graduate program of the College. Preference will be given to new students not yet enrolled in a graduate program at Texas Tech. Students interested in being considered for a Jones Fellowship should contact the Department Chair of the academic unit within which they intend to pursue their education to obtain information on the eligibility standards for that academic unit.

Application
Students interested in being considered for a Jones Fellowship should apply in writing to the Department Chair of the academic unit within which they intend to pursue their education. Regardless of the academic unit to which they are applying, each applicant must fill out and submit a basic application form developed by the Davis College Research Committee. This form may be obtained from the Department Chair of the respective academic unit, and should be returned to the Department Chair of the respective academic unit. Additional information may be required by some academic units based on their particular set of eligibility standards.

Selection of Candidates
Each academic unit will submit up to two candidates each year from the individuals applying within that academic unit for consideration as Jones Fellows. The specific method by which a candidate is selected is left up to the individual academic unit, with the understanding that a candidate should be of sound character and high academic quality. Under no circumstance will an academic unit select a candidate for a Jones Fellowship based on age, race, sex, citizenship, country of origin, or physical capabilities.

• The name of each candidate, his/her application, and other documentation used in the selection, will be transmitted by the Department Chair to the Davis College Research Committee, along with a letter from the Department Chair explaining the reasons why this individual was selected as a prospective recipient of the Jones Fellowship.

Application & Selection Timing
Students and prospective students may apply to their respective academic units at any time prior to the cut-off date established by those academic units. Academic units will submit their maximum of two candidates for Jones Fellowships by January 31 preceding the start of that academic year. Note that the academic year starts with the Fall Semester. Cut-off dates established by academic units should allow sufficient time for selecting candidates prior to the January 31 deadline.

• The Davis College Research Committee will evaluate and rank the candidates and submit a list of prospective recipients to the College by March 15 preceding the start of that academic year. The College will notify the Davis College Research Committee regarding the approval of these potential recipients by April 15 preceding the start of that academic year. Award of Jones Fellowships will be announced by the Davis College Research Committee by May 1 preceding the start of that academic year.

Reporting
Each recipient of a Jones Fellowship must write a brief (two pages maximum) annual progress report. The report must be submitted by January 15 of the academic year to the Davis College Research Committee. In addition to outlining his/her scholarly activities, the recipient should describe their activities in meeting the responsibilities of Jones Fellows as described previously in this document.

• Each academic unit must report annually the status of all current Fellowship recipients to the Davis College Research Committee. The final reporting for a student should indicate their final degree status and where they went after completing their program. The Davis College Research Committee will summarize this information into an annual report to the Dean of the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources.

Changes in Procedures
Changes in the value and duration of the fellowship award, the method of award, the timing of applications and selection, the methods of reporting by award recipients and academic units, and the procedures for determining eligibility, application, and selection of award recipients (with the exception that eligibility and selection of prospective recipients cannot be based on age, race, sex, citizenship, country of origin, or physical capabilities) may be made by action of the Davis College Research Committee with the approval of the College.