Scholarships & Awards

This scholarship was established in 2004 by the family of Eric D. Meyer as a gift in memory of their son. Eric was an NKU student at the time of his death and possessed a strong passion for poetry. The university received extensive contributions in Eric's memory, and friends sponsored numerous fundraising events in support of the scholarship.

Note: This scholarship requires the submission of 10 pages of original poetry to the Department of English in addition to the application filed with the Office of Financial Aid.

The endowment for the Stallings English Scholarship was established in 1989 by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. J. Roy Wells of Lubbock, Texas, to honor Frank L. and Virginia R. Stallings.

This award was created and endowed in memory of Dr. Danny L. Miller, who began teaching at NKU in 1981 and served as Department Chair from 2000 until his death in 2008. While Danny Miller had many passions in life -- including Appalachian literature, his family, his friends, and genealogy -- one of his proudest accomplishments was creating the NKU English Department graduate program. Danny Miller ardently believed in the power of humanities education to change lives.

Eligibility: Student must be enrolled in the Masters of English program at NKU; have earned at least 15 credit hours prior to the application; be in good academic standing; and enrolled in at least 3 credit hours in the academic year of the award.

Applicants must submit:

1. Reflective letter of application, detailing progress through the graduate program, plans for the future, and optionally, what the graduate program has meant to the student (maxiumum of 740 words).
2. Letter of recommendation from previous professor.
3. Statement from Director of Graduate Studies confirming academic status.

Endowed in honor of the parents of creative writing professor P. Andrew Miller, the award provides students with an interest and demonstrated proficiency in fiction writing with an opportunity to develop their writing skills through a cash award.

Eligibility: Must be admitted to NKU as a degree-seeking student; must be in good academic standing; must have earned at least 15 credit hours prior to application for award; must be enrolled for six credit hours.
Open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Portfolio: The portfolio consists of two parts.

1. Student will submit a portfolio of fiction between 15-25 pages. Portfolio can contain one short story, a novel excerpt, or a combination of stories. Pages should be typed, double-spaced in Times New Roman or Courier font, and done in manuscript format.
2. Student will also include a cover letter (about 250-300 words) expressing their strengths in fiction writing and a brief account of their writing goals.

Student entries will be reviewed by judges outside the Department of English either selected by a representative of the Miller family or by the department.

Our department's most pretigious award is given to the outstanding English major in memory of William Byron, the first chairperson of the department. The recipient must have exhibited an abiding love of literature, a creative excellence in writing, and an active interest in many areas of knowledge.

Established as a memorial to our former colleague Thad Lindsey, this award honors a special student whose demonstrated intellectual curiosity, whose wit and conversational spark, whose ability to enliven any discussion pertinently and impertinently have persuaded the department that an award is appropriate. This would be a student whose independence makes her or him a presence that enhances classes, committees, meeetings and social gatherings in the department.

This award was established to recognize significant contributions by a student to extracurricular departmental activities.

Two Lindsey book awards provide $150.00 of credit at the NKU Bookstore for purchase of books. The recipient must be a continuing student with a good record of scholarship.

This award was established in honor of Judith Blackburn, the first writing director in the department and a person who throughout her career at NKU was an inspiring, energetic and tireless advocate for student writing and writing instruction.