Chautauquan Daily reporter Mary Desmond, who has been responsible for covering the 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture Series among other Department of Religion programs, served as the Ernest Cawcroft Journalism Fellow for the 2012 Season. Established in 2009, the Cawcroft Fellowship recognizes a promising young journalist who serves as a reporter on the Daily staff. The fellowship provides for Desmond’s salary, housing and travel expenses during the 2012 Season.

The Cawcroft Fellowship is named after Jamestown attorney and former Daily reporter Ernest Cawcroft, who served as a Chautauqua Institution trustee for 51 years. Chautauquan Stephen S. Anderson created the fellowship in Cawcroft’s memory and is working with the Chautauqua Foundation to establish the fellowship on a permanent basis through the creation of an endowment fund. Cawcroft was elected to the board of trustees at the Institution in January 1917 at the age of 36, and served continuously until his death on Dec. 23, 1967. Among his contributions to Chautauqua are the writing of the Chautauqua Utility District Act and his working for its passage and the obtaining of the governor’s signature.