L.P. Jenkins Memorial Fellowship Program

Mrs. Lorraine Phyllis Jenkins of Sacramento, California was an elementary school teacher and a long-time supporter of orangutan research. She encouraged her son Dr. Gary Shapiro, President of the Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) and Chairman of the Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative, to enter the field to conduct orangutan research as a graduate student. Mrs. Jenkins died on November 21, 1997, following a losing battle with cancer. In her memory, the LP Jenkins Memorial Fellowship for Orangutan and Rainforest Research (LP Jenkins Fellowship) was created and administered through the Orangutan Foundation International until November 2004, when the OFI Board transferred the LP Jenkins Fellowship to the Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative at the request of Dr. Shapiro.

The LP Jenkins Fellowship is a competitive award open to all graduate and undergraduate students planning to conduct field research on orangutans or related rainforest or conservation education in Indonesia. A total of 18 students have received this honor since the initial three fellowships were awarded at the Third Great Apes of the World Conference in Sarawak in 1998. 

OURF intends to award two LP Jenkins Fellowships of $1,000 in 2025.

Note to donors: You can help support this important research education program by making a donation to OURF earmarked for the LP Jenkins Memorial Fellowship. You can send a check, go to the Appeals page, or make an online donation through PayPal. Be assured the donation will benefit a worthy student conducting important orangutan or rainforest research. 

How to apply

Interested students are encouraged to apply each year in order to be considered. Applications for 2025 are due by July 1, 2025. Completed applications should be sent electronically to the Orang Utan Republik Foundation by sending an email to info@orangutanrepublik.org. An OURF Review Committee will evaluate the merits of each application and may recommend one or two recipients to the President of OURF. The winner(s) of the Fellowship will be notified by email by August 1.

Applicants should realize that funds will not be disbursed to the Fellowship recipient until he or she shows evidence of a valid research permit (if needed) to conduct their proposed study. Recipients are also expected to write two documents: a popular report on their research that will be published in OURF's newsletter, and a more scientific report of greater length, which OURF will publish in a series of occasional proceedings. Applicants should submit both reports in PDF format.

The LP Jenkins Memorial Fellowship Application form is available on this website.

Current and past recipients of the LP Jenkins Memorial Fellowship

The following table lists past recipients of the LP Jenkins Memorial Fellowship.