About

The Newman Office was established in 2016-17 by a generous gift from Ruth and Harold Newman. Our office offers extensive one-on-one advising, information sessions, panels on student intellectual and professional development, practice interviews, and writing workshops. Since 2016-17, Hunter’s students have won the Rhodes, Marshall, Schwarzman, Luce, Soros, Truman, Boren, and Fulbright Scholarships, among many others. We work closely with our partners in the Pre-Professional Advising Suite (710, East Building) to help Hunter students plan their futures and fulfill their dreams.

Stephen Lassonde, Director of the Office of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships, graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. He was Dean of Student Life in Harvard College from 2013-2016, at which point he was recruited to establish the fellowships office at Hunter. Lassonde spent the first fourteen years of his career at Yale as a history lecturer and Dean of Calhoun (now Hopper) College, one of Yale’s fourteen residential colleges. In 2007 he moved to Brown University, where as Deputy Dean of the College he significantly improved the quality of academic advising offered to Brown undergraduates. Lassonde has published two books on the history of childhood with Yale University Press and has contributed several essays, book chapters, and reviews to collections on the history of childhood and education in the United States. He is currently writing a book on children and authority in Cold War America and has just finished a manuscript on “Writing the Personal Statement,” based on the workshop developed at Hunter with independent scholar Margaret Sabin.

The Office of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships serves Hunter College as a resource for students seeking information and guidance on funding outside the College with special emphasis on university-sponsored programs that support nationally competitive opportunities for work or study in the United States and abroad, both before and after graduation.

We help students identify scholarships that best align with their academic achievements and long term goals and advise each stage of the application process. We assist students currently enrolled, those who will be graduating during the coming academic year, and those who have already graduated from Hunter College.

Many nationally-competitive scholarships, such as the Fulbright, Rhodes, Marshall, and Goldwater and other awards, require an official university endorsement for each student. For most of these opportunities, the Director of the Office, Stephen Lassonde, serves as the University’s official representative for these endorsements.

All interested students, before scheduling an appointment with the office, should fill out the Profile Form (uploading your transcript and résumé). Note that preparing an application takes months; if you’re considering applying, please don’t wait to get in touch.