MEES Graduate Program Fund

In 1987 the University of Maryland Foundation, Inc. established an endowed fund to support the Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences (MEES) Graduate Program at the University of Maryland, College Park. The MEES Graduate Student Fund was formalized in April 1999, and in 2019 was renamed “The MEES Graduate Program Fund” to enhance Chesapeake Bay research and the education of graduate students enrolled in the MEES program. The primary donors of this prestigious scholarship are the founder of the MEES Graduate Program; Dr. Robert Menzer, and his wife Sarah. Decades before the popularity of organic farming and the promotion of organic fruits and vegetables in restaurants and grocery stores, Robert E. Menzer, M.S. ’62, entomology, was studying the effects of pesticides on fruits and vegetables at the University. Following doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin in pesticide toxicology, he returned to the University of Maryland in 1965 to run the Department of Entomology’s Toxicology Lab. Among Dr. Menzer’s numerous contributions, his groundbreaking research on the carcinogenicity of pesticides helped lead to the development of national regulations on the chemicals used in pesticide production. Menzer also has served on the Safe Water Drinking Committee and the Toxicology Committee of the National Research Council formulating national standards for safe drinking water.

This award is made annually to any MEES graduate student with superior academic merit, achievement and scholarship and supports graduate students whose research focus is on the Chesapeake Bay.

The Director of the Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Sciences Graduate Programs will award a scholarship to select recipients on the basis of merit and on the eligibility rules listed below:

To be eligible, the candidates selected for this scholarship must be enrolled in the (MEES) Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences graduate program and meet the preferred selection criteria:

● Good academic standing in the graduate program

● A cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above, and

● Research focused on the Chesapeake Bay

Questions: Email mees@umd.edu more information.