Alumni & Development
About James Holland
Endocrinologist James Holland earned over two dozen teaching and service awards during his 31-year career at IU. Among his many awards, he received the Student Choice Award for Outstanding Faculty, the Herman B Wells Lifetime Achievement Award, Indiana University Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching Award, the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the Chancellor’s Medallion for his “transcendent service to the Bloomington campus.” Between 1979 and 1998, Professor Holland was also a seven-time recipient of the Senior Class Award for Teaching Excellence in Biology and Dedication to Undergraduates, an award voted on by senior biology majors.
He worked tirelessly to address the needs of minority students on the Bloomington campus. Professor Holland joined forces with Professor Herman Hudson to found the Minority Achievers Program and the Mathematics and Science Scholarship Program. The programs were renamed in 2003 to honor the efforts of these two men: MAP became the Herman C. Hudson Scholars Program, and MASS is now the James P. Holland Scholars Program. Holland worked with other biology staff members to create the Summer Enrichment Program, which was designed to interest Indiana minority high school students in science by bringing them to campus for classes and hands-on laboratory experience. He led the program, which was renamed in his honor in 2000, from its inception. Prior to his death in 1998, a one-time-only minority fellowship was created in Holland’s name. This award was used as the model for the endowed fellowship that exists today.
James Holland Fellowship
Thanks to the generosity of donors like you, the James P. Holland Fellowship generates an estimated annual income of $13,804 (as of August 2009). For the fellowship to be self-supporting, an endowment of $750,000 is required, and we are 31% of the way toward reaching our goal. With your support, we can continue to provide the opportunity for bright, young scientists to receive an advanced education, and pay tribute to the extraordinary contributions of James Holland.
David Thoms, 2012-2013 Holland Fellow
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David Thoms comes to us from Georgia Gwinnett College where he earned a B.S. in Cell Biology and Biotechnology. While there, he participated in a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates Site Program in Prokaryotic Biology at the University of Georgia’s Department of Microbiology. David also volunteered at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. There he conducted a research project to determine genetic variation in the Georgian male population of a rare species of flowering plant, Rhus michauxii, the false poison sumac, which suffers from the loss and degradation of its habitat and by barriers to its reproduction. His goal is to become a research professor.
About the James Holland Fellowship
The fellowship is not open for applications; the award is presented to a first-year Ph.D. student from a group that is under-represented in the life-sciences. Holland was a champion for minority students in science and believed that advanced degrees were crucial to their success. The fellowship provides the tuition, stipend, and health insurance for the selected student. The total package amounts to a minimum of $50,895 per year.
The James P. Holland Graduate Fellowship in Biology was established in honor of one of Indiana University’s most beloved professors. The late James Holland was a mentor and role model for all students throughout his more than 30 years of service to IU.
Read more about the Holland Fellowship requirements »