Reinstate the Pacific Leaders Graduate Student Fellowships

The Pacific Leaders Graduate Student Fellowship program was established in March 2007 by the British Columbia Government in order to attract top-quality researchers to the B.C. Public Service while producing research to address key issues facing British Columbia. Archived information on the program is at http://ur1.ca/2ae4

Pacific Leaders fellows received $20,000 per year for each year of graduate studies up to two years, with up to 20 fellows chosen each year. The fellowships were to support graduate students whose areas of research are relevant to the future of the province. Once students complete their graduate degrees, they must work one year for the B.C. Public Service for every year of graduate studies funded through the fellowship.

In March 2009, the BC Government suspended the program and will not be awarding fellowships in 2009 despite having increased the budget of StudentAid BC by $500,000 in the 2009/2010 Budget. While acknowledging the challenging financial situation the province is in, the suspension of this funding program again demonstrates the need for the Government to maintain its commitment to long-term strategies rather than vacillating from perceived crisis to crisis.