Program History and Background
The Governor's Yearlong Fellowship Program was established in 1979, which was later renamed the James H. Dunn Memorial Fellowship Program in 1981 by Executive Order 7. This change honored James H. Dunn, a Rockford, Illinois citizen for his outstanding commitment to public service.
Executive Order 3 in 1986 brought all fellowship and internship programs administered by the Office of the Governor under the aegis of the Prescott E. Bloom Internships in Government Program. According to the Dunn Fellowship application, "No one understood the benefit of government internship programs to both the State and the individual better than State Senator Prescott E. Bloom. From 1976 until his premature death in 1986, Senator Bloom sponsored his own annual internships, which successfully introduced hundreds of high school and college students to the inside of state government."
The fellowship's purpose is to develop college graduates who have demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and community involvement into capable leaders. Fellows are given the opportunity to develop skills in program budgeting, legislation, communication, and research, all of which are strongly demonstrated by successful public administrators. The program addresses the public sector's future need of competent and committed administrators by training these young adults in the operations of state government. Over the course of the fellowship year, the program provides a public sector management training program encouraging fellows to remain in a career oriented toward public service.
In addition, the program enables college graduates to supplement their academic backgrounds, providing them with an opportunity to develop their professional and leadership skills. Also, the program helps to achieve state affirmative action goals through the nomination of qualified minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.
The Dunn Fellowship Program is now administered by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services. Dunn Fellows, however, receive placements as fellows in the Office of the Governor and they are assigned Governor's Office supervisors and represent the Governor's Office as full-time staff during their fellowship.
On July 15, 2009 the Dunn Fellowship was cut from the Fiscal Year 2010 budget by Governor Pat Quinn. After an outpouring of support, the program was restored in August 2009.
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