Purpose: Wingspread conferences are intensive meetings of experts gathered to discuss a variety of issues or problems at a Frank Lloyd Wright prairie home located in Racine, Wisconsin.

The Foundation's priorities are to host conferences centered around rethinking assumptions, international affairs, global environmental, institution buildings, improving cross-cultural skills, education, family and society, child development, family vitality and function, and sciences and humanities.

Since the inception of the program in 1969, hundreds of undergraduates at colleges and universities in the Upper Midwest - public as well as private - have had the opportunity to experience Wingspread conferences of their choice. For many Fellows, it has been life-changing: new perspectives on urgent public issues, a new sense of career possibilities, relationships with experts, the opportunity to engage in civil and reflective discussion with individuals of differing points of view.

Background: The Melvin Brorby Wingspread Fellows program was named for Melvin Brorby who was a Trustee of The Johnson Foundation for nearly twenty years and initiator of the Wingspread Fellows program, which he conceived as a way in which the Foundation might contribute to the education of the next generation of leaders.

Melvin Brorby's insight into the importance of personal contact between students and leaders grew largely from his own travels as a young man. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Wisconsin in 1920, Brorby traveled to Europe where he studied in England and France and then spent three years traveling and studying in the Near East, India, and East Asia. The experiences of living with people of different cultures and his military service in France during World War I provided Brorby with a global perspective which was immensely valuable to The Johnson Foundation and to the many other organizations that he served. He died in 1996 at the age of 101.

Click the options below to learn more about Wingspread:

Information about Wingspread and why you will want to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Program Outline

Program Description and Biography Samples

Conference Listing

Read Wingspread Fellows' reflections on the program.

Funding: The Johnson Foundation covers all conference costs including lodging accommodations, airfare (students make their own reservations, but are reimbursed at the end of the conference), travel to and from airport, and food.

Eligibility: Must be a junior or senior with a major or concentration in Economics, Educational Studies, Environmental & Technology Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology, or Women's and Gender Studies. You will need to obtain the department chair or program director's signature on the application form. Juniors chosen this year will be able to continue as Fellows next year, if they wish.

Selection Criteria: Department chairs/program directors will choose one junior and one senior to represent Carleton at Wingspread Conferences. Juniors selected have the option of continuing as Wingspread Fellows during their senior year.

Application Process: Forward the following information to the Associate Dean of the College, Elizabeth Ciner, Laird 131:

• Applications - click this link to fill out.  All applications must be signed by the chair or program director before being submitted to our office.
• Either on the application (link above) or as a separate document in Word, write a brief statement that explains how becoming a Wingspread Fellow could enhance your education, enrich your personal development, and contribute to the life work for which you are preparing.
• And also, write a brief biography (again, either on the application or as a separate Word document) written in the third person about your educational career, achievements, and any extra curricular activities and/or work experience which reflect your intellectual or artistic interests or your social concerns. Click here for an example.
• E-mail a copy of your application to kmoldenh@carleton.edu
• Request an unofficial transcript and submit with the application.

If you are chosen as a Wingspread Fellow:
Once a month you will receive an e-mail of upcoming conferences and a Wingspread application form. If you are interested in attending a conference, fill out the Wingspread application form, write a letter of interest, and a brief biography (written in third person) and paste them on to the bottom of the application form. These can be sent via e-mail it to Karen Moldenhauer.

Your letter of interest should include the name and date of the conference along with a brief statement explaining why you should be chosen to attend the conference and how you could benefit from attending. You can submit the same biography that you wrote for the application process (mentioned above) and use the same bio for every conference that you apply for. Your completed application will be forwarded to The Johnson Foundation. If approved, the Associate Dean's Office will contact you and The Johnson Foundation will send you a packet of information containing conference and travel instructions.

If you are not accepted to a conference, don't worry. Apply for another one. The lesson to be learned: apply earlier!

When you return from a conference:
What you need to do for the Johnson Foundation—
Within two weeks of attending a conference, Wingspread Fellows are expected to share with the foundation a brief essay reflecting on their experiences. Topics might include: What did you learn? What do you think now that you didn’t think before? Did the conference achieve its purpose? Who was the most interesting person you met and why? It is the program’s goal that experiences at conferences should make a substantial contribution to your education and broaden your perspectives. Your essay/summary can be sent to Lisa Piche at the Johnson Foundation and to Dean Elizabeth Ciner at eciner@carleton.edu; it will be included on the Carleton web site as appropriate.

Most important of all, remember to send The Johnson Foundation a letter of thanks for their hospitality. It is indeed a rare opportunity for you to be able to participate in the Wingspread Conference as a student.

What you need to do for Carleton—
As a Wingspread Fellow, you are also required to follow up each conference you attend with a "dissemination project." The purpose of the project is to spread the knowledge that you gained from the conference to the Carleton community. This is how Carleton as a whole benefits from sending capable students to Wingspread Conferences. Dissemination projects can be a presentation in a related class, a newspaper article, or anything you feel will spread the information around. Please let Dean Ciner know how you disseminated what you learned at the conference; be sure to include anything appropriate for the website.

Faculty Adviser: Elizabeth Ciner, 507/222-4300, Dean of the College Office, Laird 131.

Official Website: http://www.johnsonfdn.org