Kimberly Norton Tapped for Fellowship at Cazenovia College

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Left to right: Kimberly Norton, for the Division of Humanit

• Kimmy Norton

CAZENOVIA, NY (10/14/2011)(readMedia)-- Cazenovia College's Washburn Junior Research Fellowships and Teaching Fellowship for 2011-2012 have been announced by Dr. John Robert Greene, Paul J. Schupf Professor, History and Humanities, and advisor for the fellowship program.

Dr. Greene has directed the Washburn Junior Fellowship Program since its inception. Conceived and funded by Professor Emeritus Marge Pinet, and named for her parents, this unique fellowship allows selected students a funded opportunity for research within his or her chosen academic field. Greene announced a significant change in the program this year, thanks to the generosity of Professor Pinet.  "In this, the program's eleventh year," Greene said, "there will be four research fellows, one from each academic division."

This past spring, members of the faculty, staff, and administration nominated students deserving of a fellowship and final choices were made by Dr. Greene with the help of several colleagues. Nominated students were required to submit their capstone proposals to be considered for a fellowship. The fellows will receive stipends to aid their research in any way they choose, and each will be invited to make a presentation to a significant portion of the faculty during the final week of his or her Capstone experience.

Kimberly Norton of Mexico, N.Y, a senior majoring in communication studies, with a minor in journalism. She is the Washburn Junior Research Fellow for the Division of Humanities and Natural Sciences. She is a member of the varsity softball team; editor of the student newspaper, "The Quad;" a staff member of the student radio station WITC-FM; a master student for the First Year Seminar, "Be the Media;" a member of the Debate Society; a resident advisor; a Phonathon caller; and a member of the Judicial Board. She completed an internship with the Cazenovia College Communications Office and is currently interning at the Central New York Community Foundation. She is also president of the Student Foundation, an arm of Caz Traditions, a program that fosters awareness and appreciation among current students regarding the College's goals, history, mission, traditions and the philanthropic roles of alumni and students.

Norton will focus her capstone research on aspects of philanthropy to not-for-profit organizations. She says, "What I learn in my research will inform the way I use the Washburn Fellowship stipend, and an additional $500 that I've saved from my internship salary. I want to help an organization on the Cazenovia College campus, perhaps a group that wants to do something the Student Government Association can't fund. The Central New York Community Foundation will help me choose an organization devoted to kids and education that can put my money to good use. To accompany my paper, I will create a documentary video of my findings, including video interviews from a variety of people working for not-for-profit organizations and stories of people who give."

"Belonging to the Student Foundation, and participating in the College's annual Phonathon fundraising campaign," Norton says, "reinforced a spark that began when I was in high school. I did a fundraising project I called Pay it Forward (after the movie) that benefited three organizations in the Mexico area."

Norton hopes that her internship position with the Community Foundation will turn into a part time job that will allow her to earn her master's degree in public relations.

Dr. Greene says, "I think it goes without saying that we as an institution are incredibly grateful to Marge for inaugurating this innovative program. I am also pleased that over the past decade, Washburn Fellows have testified to both the rigor and the usefulness of their experience; many have told me how useful the Fellowship was in their respective Grad School programs, and at last summer's Alumni Weekend, a reunion of past Washburn Fellows paid tribute to this as well."

PHOTO: Professor Emerita Marge Pinet (center), met with The Washburn Research Fellows named in the fall of 2011, in the Cazenovia College Archives. Left to right: Kimberly Norton, for the Division of Humanities and Natural Sciences; Elizabeth DeLuca, for the Division of Business and Management; Pinet; Robert H. Dufek, for the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences; and 2011 Washburn Teaching Fellow, Jasmyne Cole. Not pictured: Carissa S. Wheeler, research fellow for the Division of Art and Design.

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields. Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction. For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.

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