Research & Funding Opportunities

- (pictured above) The late Rudolph P. Byrd, Chair of the Department of African American Studies and founder of the James Weldon Johnson Institute for Race and Difference

The Rudolph P. Byrd Memorial Scholarship recognizes a senior at Emory College who demonstrates leadership in activities that address social, political, cultural, and professional issues in the African American community at Emory.

Named in memory of Dr. Rudolph P. Byrd, this award acknowledges the contributions, hard work, and potential of one of Emory College's best students. The selection committee evaluates applicants' academic performance, work ethic, and service to the campus community and black student body as they match the spirit of the man for whom the scholarship is named.

In his time at Emory, Dr. Byrd served as chair of the Department of African American Studies and labored for many years to establish the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race & Difference on this campus. He also launched the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship at Emory and the related United Negro College Fund/Mellon Summer Institute.

He helped train undergraduate and graduate students to rise to the top of their professional fields, and he left a body of work that has helped to shape and challenge our sense of African American literary history.