Applications are being sought for the Robert H. Levis II Cross Ranch Fellowship, which will be awarded to a first- or second-year graduate student studying botany, range management or a closely related aspect of natural resources management.

The one-year award of approximately $5,000 will be given to a student on the basis of academic record, commitment to one of the disciplines noted and an interview with the faculty selection committee: Ted Esslinger, professor of biological sciences, and Gary Clambey, associate professor of biological science. The fellowship can be used as a stipend for the recipient or in support of graduate research expenses.

Eligible students should submit a written application for consideration. Faculty also can submit written nominations for graduate students. The deadline is Friday, May 8. Send applications and nominations, along with a copy of graduate or undergraduate transcripts, to Esslinger in the Department of Biological Sciences, Stevens Hall 218.

The fellowship is supported by an endowment that originated as a donation to the NDSU Development Foundation from Robert H. Levis II. It was enhanced by a gift from the Gladys Allen Trust of St. Louis, bequeathed by Allen in memory of her late husband, Robert H. Levis II. The Cross Ranch, which is located near the Missouri River west of Washburn, N.D., was owned by the Levis family and is now managed by The Nature Conservancy as a significant natural area in western North Dakota.