Graduate Internships

Sutherland Fellowship

Robert D. Sutherland was one of those responsible for starting and energizing creative writing at Illinois State University. Beginning in the early 1970s, Bob taught creative writing, wrote distinguished fiction, and-with colleagues James R. Scrimgeour and Lucia Cordell Getsi-brought visiting writers and poets to campus and sponsored student activities including readings and a student journal, Druid-s Cave. Most significantly, Bob began a publishing endeavor with Jim Scrimgeour-The Pikestaff Press-that published a literary review, poetry chapbooks, and works of prose fiction. Scrimgeour continued as co-editor after leaving Illinois State for Western Connecticut State University in 1978. In a 19-year run that ended in 1996, Bob and Jim-s magazine The Pikestaff Forum published the work of 617 individuals, comprising 645 poems, 107 works of prose fiction, 2 plays, 30 essays on literary topics, 43 book reviews, 37 photographs, 82 original drawings, and 52 editorial profiles written by editors of other magazines about their publications - a total of 998 items. It was one of the few magazines at that time to also publish the work of young authors.

By the 1990s, with the addition of Curtis White to the faculty, Illinois State would be nationally and internationally recognized for a wide variety of publishing ventures, including FC2, American Book Review, The Exquisite Corpse, Context, Dalkey Archive Press, Spoon River Quarterly, and, most recently, Mandorla: New Writing From The Americas. Robert Sutherland retired from teaching in January, 1993; he is pleased that he and his colleagues were able to establish a successful creative writing program at ISU and foster departmental support for literary publications.

Sutherland Fellowships, named in honor of Bob-s distinguished career in the Department of English, are awarded to a small number of creative writing students who work a year in the Department's Publications Unit and spend a second year teaching creative writing. In 2014, Bob and his wife, Marilyn, generously agreed to create an endowment for these fellowships.

For their first year of a Sutherland Fellowship, students receive a stipend each month for 9 months and are assigned to complete their assistantships at the Publications Unit (a 10-hour per week assignment). Students awarded this fellowship are involved with the production of publications on a daily basis, from proofreading and preparing text, to layout and design, to printing preparation, to marketing and advertising. In addition, students on fellowship learn about nonprofit publishing, current trends in the publishing field, and lobbying for the arts (literature). The fellowship is treated as a professional job, where students are expected to complete work at an elevated and often fast-paced level and to challenge knowledge and skill levels with each assignment. Fellows are also recognized as students and will be trained and supervised within an educational environment. These fellowships also include a tuition waiver.

For more information about graduate programs in English at Illinois State University, please see our graduate program website.