The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

P roficiency in foreign languages is one of thekeyassetsof theForeignService corps. AFSAhas anawards program that helps acknowledge achievement in the studyof difficult languages. We arepleased to announce the winners of the 2004 Matilda W. Sinclaire Language Awards. The winners are: Joanne Gilles — Japanese Sarah E. Gordon — Dari Kimberly D. Harrington — Tagalog Jason P. Hyland — Azerbaijani Matthew C. Meadows — Tagalog David H. Rank — Greek Sinclaire winners are honored for outstanding accomplishments in the study of a “hard” language. Candidates for the award are nominated by the lan- guage-training supervisors at the FSI School of Language, and selected by a committee composed of AFSA staff and Governing Boardmembers. Each of the winners receives a check for $1,000 from the Matilda W. Sinclaire Endowment and a certificate of recognition signed by the AFSA president and the chair of the AFSA awards committee. The Sinclaire endowment was estab- lished in 1982 with a $175,000 bequest fromMatilda Sinclaire to AFSA. A for- mer Foreign Service officer who spent the last years of her life in Italy, Sinclaire sought to promote and reward superi- or achievement by career officers of the Foreign Service while studying one of the “hard” languages under the auspices of the Foreign Service Institute. The guidelines were amended and updated in October 2001 to expand eligibility for the awards to any career and career con- ditional member from any of the foreign affairs agencies: Department of State, USAID, FCS, FAS and IBB. For 2004, two of the six winners have been recognized for the study of Tagalog and are serving inManila. Another cur- rent Embassy Manila employee, Anne Coleman, was a recipient of the Sinclaire Award in 2003. The embassy recognized all three individuals at their awards cer- emony on Nov. 18 in Manila. AFSA congratulates all the winners of this year’s Sinclaire Language Awards. ▫ DECEMBER 2004 • AFSA NEWS 7 JOSH AFSA HONORS ACHIEVEMENT IN HARD LANGUAGES 2004 Sinclaire Language Award Winners Announced DREYFUS SCHOLARSHIPS DACOR Offers Financial Support for Students D ACOR Bacon House Foundation has several scholarships and fellowships for children and grandchildrenofU.S. ForeignService officers, active or retired, for Academic Year 2005-2006. The purpose is toencourage the studyof international rela- tions, andconsists of financial support for study at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., and Yale University. Awards are made possible by and limit- ed to the income from a generous bequest of the late Ambassador Louis G. Dreyfus Jr. Hotchkiss will seek to select one qualified enrolled student for a $5,000scholarship. ApplicantsshouldcontacttheDirectorofFinancial Aid, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT 06039-0800, providing evidence of a parent or grandparent’s Foreign Service status. Awards to Yale students, based on merit, will be made by the DACOR Bacon House Foundation in consultation with Yale University. Awards for undergraduates may be up to $5,000 and up to $10,000 for graduate students. Fellowship awards to gradu- ate and professional students may be up to $10,000, and any sec- ond-year award will be at half stipend. There is no restriction as to fieldof study but, if there aremany applicants, pref- erencewill be given to students ina field related to for- eign affairs and for study toward a master’s degree. At Yale, the awards are coordinated by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, Henry R. LuceHall, 34HillhouseAve., NewHaven, CT 06520. Aspirantsmayapply for theDreyfusAwards at the time of their application for admission to Yale University. Applicationmaterials shouldbe sent toDACORBacon House Foundation, Attn:WilliamC. Hamilton, 1801 FStreet, N.W.,Washington, DC 20006, byMarch15, 2005. Include the following: a copy of themost recent appointment or promotion document of the appli- cant's FS parent or grandparent; a brief letter of inter- est with full contact information including full name, current and permanent addresses, phone (and fax)numbers, ande-mail address; the applicant’s resumé; a copy of the applicant’s most recent tran- script; and a one-page statement of academic goals, work experi- ence, awards andnon-academic achievements. Applicants for grad- uate fellowships should add a second page outlining career goals as presently perceived. For further information on either award, contact Sherry Barndollar Rock at DACOR by phone: (202) 682-0500, ext. 17, or 1 (800) 344-9127; fax: (202) 842-3295; or e-mail: prog.coord@ dacorbacon.org. ▫ JOSH