Butcher Scholar Award

From left to right: Jane Butcher, Jackie Autry, and 2003 Butcher Scholar Award Winner Mary Casey.

The Institute for the Study of the American West at the Autry National Center seeks applicants for the Butcher Scholar Award. Established in 2001 by the Women of the West Museum, the Butcher Scholar Award honors the vision, leadership, and generosity of Jane and Charlie Butcher. We welcome applications for innovative projects that promise to deepen our understanding of the history of diverse women in the historical and contemporary West.

The stipend will be up to $5,000, depending on the scope of the project. Residence at the Autry National Center is not required.

Butcher Scholar Award Winners

2008
Karen McNeill, Architectural Historian, "Julia Morgan: Building the California Women's Movement"

2007
Laura Bayer, Independent Historian, The Rose Daniels Stories

2006
Flannery Burke, Assistant Professor at California State University, Northridge, Longing and Belonging: Mabel Dodge Luhan and Greenwich Village's Avante Garde in Taos

2005
Katherine Benton-Cohen, Louisiana State University, Borderline Americans: Gender, Nation, and the Redefinition of Race in Cochise County, Arizona, 1848-1945

Patricia Cleary, California State University, Long Beach, The World, the Flesh, and the Devil: Community Formation and Disorderly Women in Eighteenth-Century St. Louis

2004
Michelle Nickerson, Southern Methodist University, Domestic Threats: Women, Gender and Conservatism in Cold War Los Angeles, 1945-1966

2003
Mary F. Casey, Los Angeles playwright, Wide Open Spaces: Alternate Stories of the American Wests

Application Procedure

Please Note:  Application dates for the 2009-2010 Butcher Scholar Award will be posted when available.

Applications should submit project proposals that include the following:

1. Three page project description, including focus, work plan, relevance to public audiences, final product(s), and timeline.
2. CV/Resumé ‑‑ Include information about previous experience, scholarly exploration, or interests relevant to your project.  No more than 2 pages please. 
3. Two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with your qualifications to design and complete your proposed project. These letters should be sent directly to the Autry National Center.
4. Contact information ‑‑ Name, address, phone, fax, and e‑mail address of the applicant.

Send three copies of your application to:

Butcher Scholar Award
Virginia Scharff, Women of the West Chair
Autry National Center
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462