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“The fellowship was definitely an incentive to come to UB.”

After applying to a number of graduate schools, Kathryn Manning chose UB for several reasons: the strength of the academic program and the financial support she received. A doctoral student in chemistry, Kathryn was awarded the 2009-2010 Marjorie Winkler Fellowship which provided her with a stipend to help cover expenses for her first year of study at UB.

Thanks to the fellowship Kathryn received, the financial aid package from UB was better than those from the other schools that were recruiting her, which was a major factor in her decision to attend.

“The fellowship was definitely an incentive to come to UB,” she says. “The first year out as a graduate student is the first year out in the real world. With an apartment and all the bills associated with that, it gets pretty pricey. It really helps to get an extra piece of income to help take care of expenses.”

An aspiring organic chemist, Kathryn is heading toward a career in industry. She’s excited about the research she’s doing at UB under Dr. Andrew Murkin, to develop inhibitors to treat diseases like tuberculosis. “I would be excited to be a part of a more direct way to bringing people new drugs to help them with disease or disability. I would like to be a part of that process,” she says.

Donor support was an important component in funding Kathryn’s fellowship. Currently, the annual graduate stipend in the UB Department of Chemistry is on average nearly $4,000 less than at peer institutions. That is why Dr. Marjorie Winkler ’75 & ’80 created the Marjorie Winkler Fellowship, which provides additional “add on” financial support to the department each year, to help recruit top students like Kathryn.

“I know how much my chemistry education at UB has meant to me, and through it, the opportunities that have become available to me,” says Dr. Winkler. “By adding money to the current stipend offered to students, UB can become more competitive with other top universities in attracting top students from across the country.”

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