Since 1982, the Forest Service has utilized this great fellowship program to recruit and ultimately hire new employees from a variety of fields including public policy, business management and economics, biology, forestry, natural resource management and law; 12 to 15 were hired per year since 2000 and are stationed across the country holding a variety of positions within the agency. By drawing graduate students from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, the PMF Program provides a continuing source of trained men and women to meet the future challenges of public service.

The PMF program was established by Executive Order in 1977 to attract to the Federal service outstanding men and women from a variety of academic disciplines and career paths who have a clear interest in, and commitment to, excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs.

Applicants can be graduate students from various academic disciplines, but must expect to complete a degree program during the current academic year in order to be eligible. In addition, applicants must demonstrate a breadth and quality of accomplishments, capacity for leadership and a commitment to excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs.

For more information about the Forest Service PMF program, including fellowship description, application details and deadlines, visit www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs/pmf/index.html.

This award consists of five years of tuition and fees, an annual stipend of up to $15,000, professional development, and expenses associated with attending the Compact for Faculty Diversity's Annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring. SREB's goal is to increase the number of minority students who earn doctoral degrees and seek to become college and university faculty members. This program has produced more than 350 graduates to date and presently assists more than 300 doctoral scholars.

Keenan Adams, a native of Columbia, SC, is a 2005 graduate of Furman University, where he majored in biology and lettered in varsity football. He received his master's degree in forest resources from the Clemson University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources focusing on bird community responses in riparian zones. Adams will continue his education at Clemson University studying aspects of human dimension and wildlife/forest management.