Wartburg College senior Andrew Tubbs is one of two students to receive an R.J. McElroy Graduate Fellowship.
Tubbs, who is majoring in music with minors in business and German, will receive up to $30,000 paid over three years as a fellowship recipient. He plans to pursue a doctorate in musicology and disabilities studies at the University of Iowa.
The fellowship, established by the McElroy Trustees in 1983, is designed to “encourage persons of accomplishment, intelligence, integrity and leadership ability to pursue challenging academic careers.”
“This fellowship provides me the great opportunity to continue my research. It truly is a blessing when other people find your research important and want to support what you are doing,” the Des Moines native said. “(The fellowship) opens up opportunities to travel to conduct research that wouldn’t have been available without an organization like the R.J. McElroy Trust.”
Tubbs’ research looks at the intersection of musicology and disability studies, specifically focusing on how musical motives parallel the narrative of a disabled character and how those musical narratives can reinforce or deconstruct societal constructs about disability.
He participated in two May Term experiences in Germany, which included researching how disabled 1930s individuals were marginalized and then exterminated. He also performed in the Phamaly Theater Company in Denver, Colo., the first U.S. theater with an all-disabled cast.
Tubbs has thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome, which causes insufficient and abnormal platelet formation, creating bleeding risks and skeletal malformations.
Wartburg President Darrel Colson said Tubbs’ “determination and sense of humor have helped faculty, staff and students to see beyond any mobility challenges to see a truly gifted individual who has transformed campus in a variety of ways.”
Tubbs, who is a member of the college’s forensics team and the Ritterchor ensemble, was awarded the Nobility Award, Dell Award for Peace and Justice and was voted the 2015 Homecoming king.
Emily Roberts of Coe College also was awarded the fellowship.
Andrew Tubbs
Tubbs, who is majoring in music with minors in business and German, will receive up to $30,000 paid over three years as a fellowship recipient. He plans to pursue a doctorate in musicology and disabilities studies at the University of Iowa.
The fellowship, established by the McElroy Trustees in 1983, is designed to “encourage persons of accomplishment, intelligence, integrity and leadership ability to pursue challenging academic careers.”
“This fellowship provides me the great opportunity to continue my research. It truly is a blessing when other people find your research important and want to support what you are doing,” the Des Moines native said. “(The fellowship) opens up opportunities to travel to conduct research that wouldn’t have been available without an organization like the R.J. McElroy Trust.”
Tubbs’ research looks at the intersection of musicology and disability studies, specifically focusing on how musical motives parallel the narrative of a disabled character and how those musical narratives can reinforce or deconstruct societal constructs about disability.
He participated in two May Term experiences in Germany, which included researching how disabled 1930s individuals were marginalized and then exterminated. He also performed in the Phamaly Theater Company in Denver, Colo., the first U.S. theater with an all-disabled cast.
Tubbs has thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome, which causes insufficient and abnormal platelet formation, creating bleeding risks and skeletal malformations.
Wartburg President Darrel Colson said Tubbs’ “determination and sense of humor have helped faculty, staff and students to see beyond any mobility challenges to see a truly gifted individual who has transformed campus in a variety of ways.”
Tubbs, who is a member of the college’s forensics team and the Ritterchor ensemble, was awarded the Nobility Award, Dell Award for Peace and Justice and was voted the 2015 Homecoming king.
Emily Roberts of Coe College also was awarded the fellowship.