The Fighting Illini Pork Club fellowship program is funded by a generous gift from the Fighting Illini Pork Club. Club members include Gary Martin, Terry Moros, and Jean-Louis Ledent. One Fighting Illini Pork Club fellowship is available each year and provides a stipend plus tuition and fee waivers for one year. This fellowship is awarded on a competitive basis to a graduate student in the Department of Animal Sciences that is involved in the coaching and teaching of the Livestock Judging and Meat Animal Evaluation teams. The award recipient will work on a faculty-sponsored research project as with responsibilities comparable to those of a 50% graduate research assistantship. Fighting Illini Pork Club fellows can accept additional assistantships.

Requirements and priorities. Candidates must hold teaching or coaching responsibilities overseeing the Livestock Judging and Meat Animal Evaluation teams. Candidates must be enrolled in a graduate program in the Department of Animal Sciences. A minimum GPA of 3.25/4.00 for all graded graduate courses is required for fellowship consideration. Priority is given to students that have not held this fellowship previously. Students from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

The stipend consists of the income from the endowment plus a match from the Office of the Provost. In addition, it is expected that the faculty advisor will supplement the award to the current level of a 50% graduate research assistantship. The fellowship exempts the recipient from tuition and service fees.