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Fellowships & Prizes

The Maryland Center for History and Culture is a proud supporter of ongoing academic research. Our organization offers fellowships and prizes to encourage and support this cause.

A Lord Baltimore Fellow works at a table in the library.

The Tory Burch Claire McCardell Fashion Fellowship

The Tory Burch Claire McCardell Fashion Fellowship is a new year-long fellowship, beginning in early 2022, that will advance professionals in the museum field by giving them the opportunity to help create a fashion exhibition in the Claire McCardell Gallery at the Maryland Center for History and Culture to open in fall of the same year. The fellow will showcase their research, leadership, and creativity skills in MCHC’s prestigious Fashion Archives, with a particular focus on research and scholarship relating to Claire McCardell and her legacy in American sportswear. The Tory Burch Claire McCardell Fashion Fellowship will provide the chosen candidate with hands-on experience in archival research, collection management, conservation and costume mounting, leadership, and curation.

Submissions for 2022 are currently closed.

The Lord Baltimore Research Fellowship

Open: November 1-December 31, 2023.

Through the Lord Baltimore Research Fellowship, MCHC welcomes applications on all periods and aspects of Maryland’s social, political, and cultural history. Our goal is to foster research across a breadth of historical fields and areas of interests, while drawing on the collections within the H. Furlong Baldwin Library. Applications should demonstrate a strong tie between the proposed research project and the Library’s collections.

The call for applications for the 2024–2025 fellowship year is now open. Learn more about the Lord Baltimore Research Fellowship Program and how to apply here.

The Ashby M. Larmore Fellowship

Open: November 1-December 31, 2023.

MCHC invites applicants planning or currently doing personal, community, or scholarly research pertaining to the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The Ashby M. Larmore Fellowship was established to foster and expand genealogical and historical knowledge related to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Established to honor the late Mr. Ashby Morton Larmore’s dedication to continual learning through primary source study, the fellowship seeks to support scholarly research using primary sources in the collections of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library. Research topics may be genealogical in nature, or focus on historical topics exploring the people, events, sites, and/or objects of Eastern Shore communities.

There are many possible topics for exploration. Examples include but are not limited to: A genealogical study of the Lloyd family of Wye House; African American history in Eastern Shore communities; care of the indigent and orphaned in Cecil County; the roles of women in the canning and fisheries industries; Eastern Shore attitudes toward slavery during the Civil War; sports and recreation in Bay communities. We look forward to applications on a wide variety of topics.

The call for applications for the 2024–2025 fellowship year is now open. Learn more about the Ashby M. Larmore Fellowship and apply here.

Genealogy Prizes

Two genealogy prizes, the Sumner A. Parker Prize and the Norris Harris Prize, are awarded annually by the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Winners are announced at MCHC’s annual meeting in June.

The Sumner A. Parker Prize

Established by Dudrea Wagner Parker in memory of her late husband, Sumner A. Parker, the Sumner A. Parker Prize is a prize of $100 awarded annually for the best genealogical work concerning either a Maryland family or a family originating in Maryland.

Norris Harris Prize

Established by genealogist and lineage specialist Winifred Mitchell Harris in memory of her late husband, Norris Harris, the Norris Harris Prize is a prize of $100 awarded annually for the best compilation of genealogical source records of Maryland.

Criteria for Inclusion

  • Each entry must be in published format.
  • Publications of the Maryland Center for History and Culture are not eligible for inclusion in the contest.
  • Entries must be documented. References and sources must be properly cited.
  • Each entry must include an every-name index unless the pertinent items contained therein are arranged in alphabetical order.
  • Entries will be judged on quality of content, scope, and organization of material, and clarity of presentation.
  • The decision of the judges will be final.
  • Contest entries must be mailed no later than December 31 of the given year to the Norris Harris/Sumner A. Parker Prize Contest, Maryland Center for History and Culture, 610 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21201.
  • Each entry becomes the property of MCHC and is placed in the H. Furlong Baldwin Library. Publication rights and/or copyright remain with the author or compiler.