The Fred Rogers Institute offers numerous fellowships for professionals interested in deepening their work in service of children, families, and their helpers.
Learn more about all of our fellowships below and make sure to visit Our Team page to meet our current Fellows!
The Fred Rogers Institute is not currently seeking new fellows. Check our website for updates if you are interested in future fellowship opportunities!
The Fred Rogers Institute is grateful to PNC Grow Up Great for their generous support of fellowships at the Fred Rogers Institute. We currently have five PNC Grow Up fellows who support our Educators’ Neighborhood program:
The Fred Rogers Institute Fellowship in Educator Wellbeing Fellowship is an opportunity for educators dedicated to learning about and improving the experiences of young children. With generous support from the Buncher Foundation, our fellows engage with the Fred Rogers Archive to deeply explore, write about, and present topics that are essential for the wellbeing of young children and those who care for them.
Fred Rogers Institute and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Fred's belief that every person has “something worth giving” is central to the foundation and efforts of the Fred Rogers Institute at Saint Vincent College and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary as they pursued a joint fellowship in theology and ministry. This exceptional opportunity provided an academic post-doctoral appointment for a scholar to pursue research within the Fred Rogers Archive and teach at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
Click below to learn more about our previous Fellow:
Fred Rogers was a musician and believed that music was a critical component of the development of young people. In a July 22, 1999, interview for the Archive of American Television, Fred stated:
“My first love is music. It is a unique way for me to express who I am and what I am feeling. Music was always my way of saying who I was and how I felt. I was always able to cry or laugh or say I was angry through the tips of my fingers on the piano. I would go to the piano even when I was five years old. I started to play how I felt. And so, it was very natural for me to become a composer. Having written all of the music for the Neighborhood, I feel as if that’s one of my gifts to children …There is something very mystical and wonderful about how music can touch us. You know it’s elemental …It must be what Heaven is like.”
Fred’s approach to music resonates with the Gretsch family’s understanding of the emotions experienced by playing Gretsch instruments and their personal commitment to “enriching children’s lives through participation in music.” The Gretsch Fellowship in Children’s Music at the Fred Rogers Institute provided support to further study Fred Rogers’ approach to music as one of the most effective methods of communication for touching the hearts and minds of children.
Click below to learn about our past Fellows and their work…
Fred Rogers cared about the wellbeing of all people, demonstrating this through nearly 900 episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and in countless writings and speeches. The Fred Rogers Institute continues to work in support of children and young people’s health and wellbeing and has been troubled that behavioral and mental health problems have increased in recent years, especially among young people. When unresolved, these issues also can lead to suicide ideation, a specific concern that should be addressed at its root. Fred directly addressed many challenges that others often chose to ignore; the Mental Health and Wellness Fellowship allows us to follow his lead by providing effective tools and strategies to combat head-on the many challenges our children and young people are facing in today’s society.
Click below to learn about our past Fellows and their work:
Rita McGinley was a lifelong educator who helped establish the Rita M. McGinley Chair in Early Learning and Children’s Media at the Fred Rogers Institute at Saint Vincent College. Ms. McGinley grew up in Braddock, Pennsylvania. She majored in biology at Carlow University and was a dedicated science teacher in the Braddock and Woodland Hills School Districts throughout her career. She was part-owner and avid fan of the Steelers; regularly attending the team’s training camp at Saint Vincent College. In addition to the endowed Chair position, the Fred Rogers Institute currently hosts two McGinley Fellows.
Dr. Michelle Figlar, Executive Director of the Birmingham Foundation, is conducting research in the Fred Rogers Archive to understand what philanthropic leaders can learn from Fred Rogers’ leadership and engagement with constituents and stakeholders in his work.
Barbara Thornton – PNC Grow Up Great Fellow (2024-2028)
Kelly Gustafson – PNC Grow Up Great Fellow (2024-2027)
Michelle Figlar – Rita M. McGinley Fellow (2024-2026)
Kevin Talbert – PNC Grow Up Great Fellow (2024-2026)
Dr. Ivan Lamourt – Rita M. McGinley Fellow (2023-2025)
Rev. Dr. Clarence Wright – Fellowship in Theology and Ministry (2023-2025)
Dr. Rebecca Zill-Miller – Citrone 33 Mental Health and Wellness (2022-2024)
Amanda Draper – Gretsch Fellow in Children's Music (2022-2023)
Hedda Sherapan – Senior Fellow (2020-2023)
Cory Hills – Gretsch Fellow in Children's Music (2021-2022)
Dr. Roberta Schaumburg – PNC Grow Up Great Senior Fellow (2021-2022)
Annette Santella – PNC Grow Up Great Senior Fellow (2021-2022)
Thelma Ramirez – (2021-2022)
Katie Palmer – Gretsch Fellow in Children's Music (2020-2021)
Katie Paciga – Early Career Fellow (2015-2017)
Alaina Peebles – Early Career Fellow (2014-2015)
James Alex Bonus – Early Career Fellow (2014-2015)
Gavin Pouliot – Early Career Fellow (2012-2013)
Jude Shingle – Early Career Fellow (2012)
LaToya Adams – Early Career Fellow (2010-2011)
Niloufar Behrouz – Early Career Fellow (2010-2011)
Adam Blau – Early Career Fellow (2010-2011)
Craig Schatten – Early Career Fellow (2010-2011)
Kristen Frame – Early Career Fellow (2009-2010)
Heather White – Early Career Fellow (2009-2010)
Sarah White – Early Career Fellow (2009-2010)
Gregory Witt – Early Career Fellow (2009-2010)
Melissa Butler – PNC Grow Up Great Fellow
Sally Rushford – PNC Grow Up Great Fellow
Anna Ly – Early Career Fellow
Brian Puerling – Early Career Fellow
Ellen Wartella - Senior Fellow
Everette Dennis - Senior Fellow
Chip Donohue - Senior Fellow
Your financial support of the Institute helps us expand our initiatives and resources so that educators and children's helpers can continue to learn and grow from Fred Rogers' legacy. Thank you!