The Brian M. Gardner Public Service Award

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An award of $1,500 presented annually to up to two upper level undergraduate social science majors with preference given to students interested in a career in public service.

About the Award:

• The Brian M. Gardner Public Service Award fosters the education and development of outstanding undergraduates in government & politics
• An award of $1500 is presented annually to up to two upper level undergraduate social science majors who have demonstrated commitment to a public service and/or political science
• The award was established through the generosity of the family and friends of Dr. Brian M. Gardner to commemorate his many contributions and his longstanding commitment to public service.
• Dr. Gardner was a member of the University of Maryland community as a doctoral student in the Department of Government and Politics, a faculty member at the Institute for Governmental Service, and an adjunct professor at University College.

Applicants for the Brian M. Gardner Public Service Award must meet the following criteria:

• declared major in a social science;
• scholarly merit;
• financial need.

Applicants must submit all the following materials:

• Two letters of recommendation from a faculty member
• A short essay by the applicant specifying his or her career goals
• A resume highlighting campus community activities and/or internship/research experiences since attending UMCP
• An official transcript
• A statement of financial need that will be verified

All application materials for the award must be submitted in a single packet by March 9, 2009 to:

Brian Gardner Scholarship Committee

c/o

GVPT Advising
Department of Government and Politics

3104 Tydings Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-4168
advising@gvpt.umd.edu

Incomplete applications will not be accepted!  

Biography of Brian M. Gardner, Ph. D.

Brian Michael Gardner was born and raised in Manchester, N.H. In 1962, he received a bachelor of arts in government with honors from St. Anselm’s College in Manchester. He received his master of arts in history and government from Niagara University in western New York in 1963, and then served for three years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. In the late 1960s, he moved to Washington, D.C. and started work on his doctorate. In 1981, he received a Ph.D. in American Government and public administration from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Dr. Gardner spent 20 years of his professional life serving the State of Maryland as a leader in state and local government reform and quality improvement. In the early 1970's, he was the assistant director of the Maryland Commission on the Functions of Government. In 1975, he joined the Maryland Technical Advisory Service, which later became the Institute for Governmental Service.

He became deputy director of the Institute in 1984 and was appointed its director in 1989. Dr. Gardner was an adjunct professor at University of Maryland University College, and an active member of the Maryland chapter of the American Society of Public Administration, serving as that chapter’s president in the mid-1980's.

The award of a scholarship recognizing public service is an especially fitting tribute to Dr. Gardner. In a “Letter from the Director” introducing a 1990 report of the Institute’s activities, he stated, “I believe that the proper role of a university, in addition to teaching and research, includes a commitment to public service.”