KU announces new 2024-2028 Self Graduate Fellows

LAWRENCE — Fifteen doctoral students have been selected to receive the University of Kansas’ prestigious Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship for the 2024-2025 academic year, marking the 35th anniversary of the program since its establishment in 1989. This incoming group of fellows matches the largest cohort, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to over 200 students throughout program’s history. In fall 2024, the fellowship reaches 47 total fellows, making it the largest fellowship size ever.

The Self Graduate Fellowship’s mission is to identify and recruit exceptional doctoral students who demonstrate the promise to make significant contributions to their fields and society.

The fellowship is a four-year package awarded to incoming or first-year doctoral students who demonstrate leadership, initiative and passion for achievement. The fellowship covers full tuition and fees, provides graduate research assistant support of $34,850 per year, a $5,500 professional development award, a first-year $5,000 start-up award, $1,000 textbook and technology awards (years 2-4), and a unique professional development program.

The Fellow Development Program provides general education and training in communication, management, innovation, policy and leadership to assist Self Graduate Fellows in preparation for future leadership roles. The role of the development program is to complement the specialized education and training provided in doctoral programs. The total value of the four-year doctoral fellowship exceeds $200,000.

The late Madison “Al” and Lila Self launched and permanently endowed the Self Graduate Fellowship in 1989, motivated by their strong belief in the vital importance of developing leadership for tomorrow. Madison Self was a 1943 KU graduate in chemical engineering. Lila Self attended KU with the Class of 1943.

The new Self Graduate Fellows for the 2024-2028 cohort: 

• Sivani Badrivenkata of Lawrence: bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences from KU; incoming doctoral student in pharmaceutical chemistry.
• Kelly Nalani Beym of Bishop, California: bachelor’s degree in individualized studies, minor in agricultural business management from New Mexico State University; first-year doctoral student in geography.
• Brody Gatza of Olathe: bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from KU; first-year doctoral student in aerospace engineering.
• Fernando Gonzalez of Brownsville, Texas: expected bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; incoming doctoral student in chemistry.
• Kiera Eckhardt of Virginia Beach, Virginia: bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Florida Gulf Coast University; master’s degree in anthropology from Illinois State University; first-year doctoral student in anthropology.
• Kaitlyn Hinz of Benton: bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience and chemistry from Drury University; first-year doctoral student in pharmacology, toxicology & therapeutics, KU Medical Center.
• Ashley Howard of Overland Park: bachelor’s degree in molecular, cellular & developmental biology from KU; first-year doctoral student in the interdisciplinary graduate program in biomedical sciences, KU Medical Center.
• Danielle Land of Albuquerque, New Mexico: bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of New Mexico; expected master’s degree in biology from the University of New Mexico; incoming doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology.
• Jeb Marshall of Leavenworth: expected bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from KU; incoming doctoral student in aerospace engineering.
• Kevin Mulcahy of Yardley, Pennsylvania: bachelor’s degree in biology and bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh; first-year doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology.
• Macie Proctor-Roser of St. Louis: bachelor’s degree in biology, minor in Spanish from Northern Arizona University; first-year doctoral student in molecular biosciences.
• Alexis Redwine of Ponca City, Oklahoma: bachelor’s degree in chemistry, minors in biology and physics from Southern Nazarene University; first-year doctoral student in chemistry.
• Marina Stoilova of San Francisco: bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California Santa Barbara; first-year doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology.
• Kayla Whatley of Green Bay, Wisconsin: bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; incoming doctoral student in bioengineering.
• Sheena Zeng of Hays: bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan; first-year doctoral student in mathematics.