Since the inception of the Southern Studies graduate program at the Center in 1986, internships have been an integral part of the graduate student experience. They enrich a program of classroom-based coursework by providing students with opportunities to gain marketable work experience as well as professional contacts. Even more, internships allow students to have the gratifying experience of becoming intellectually engaged in the professional world by testing their newly-acquired knowledge in a practical setting. They are springboards for fulfilling careers.

In January, Kathryn Wiener, a resident of Jackson and a longtime member of the Center Advisory Committee, established the Julian and Kathryn Wiener Southern Studies Internship Endowment. A graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, Kathryn Wiener became motivated to fund such an endowment while reading an article from her alma mater’s quarterly magazine. “The college president had advocated an internship program of which all undergraduates could avail themselves. I never had the opportunity to be an intern, because internships were not available when I was a college student. I wish that I could have had the experience that enables students to work in the ‘real world.’ Anything that allows a student to experience and work through a project is greater instruction than just hearing about it.” The endowment is named for Wiener and her late husband, Dr. Julian Wiener, who shared her interest in providing for students’ professional engagement.

Thanks to the Wieners’ generous endowment, one Southern Studies graduate student each year will receive support to undertake an internship in his or her area of interest. Past students have interned for organizations such as the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, Vicksburg, Mississippi; Viking Range Corporation, Greenwood, Mississippi; the Southern Arts Federation, Atlanta; the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia; and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. They have specialized in areas ranging from cultural resources management, to archival and museum work, to documentary work.

Center director Charles Reagan Wilson commented, “The Julian and Kathryn Wiener Southern Studies Internship Endowment is an investment in the future of Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi. Funding opportunities like this draw top-notch students from all over the country to our graduate program. The annual proceeds from this endowment will enable students to engage in valuable professional development that will lead them to become innovators in their fields.”

Anglina Altobellis

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