Friends of the Dickens Forum,

John Jordan, one of the "onlie begetters" of the U.C. Santa Cruz Dickens 
Project and indefatigable
devotee, keeps us up to date on its goings-on: (pjm)
---------------Honorable Dickensians:

I write for two related reasons. First is to let you know that the 2017 
winter conference for graduate students, held in Lexington KY on 
February 23-24 and hosted by our colleague Ellen Rosenman, was a great 
success. Faculty and students from 12 different Dickens Project member 
institutions participated. Eleven Project faculty attended, the largest 
number ever in winter conference history. The papers delivered were of 
consistently high quality, offering a preview of future research by the 
next generation of Victorianists.

My second reason is to urge your support of the UCSC Giving Day 
initiative on Wednesday, March 8. This year the Dickens Project is 
raising money for a graduate student travel fund that will assist 
graduate students from member schools to attend Project-sponsored 
conferences and events (like the one in Lexington) when monies for this 
purpose are not available from their home campus.

Matching funds for up to $3500 have been pledged by Project loyalists, 
including one graduate student alumnus. Your contribution, no matter how 
large or small, will help us sustain and increase our commitment to 
graduate student professionalization.

Look for Giving Day announcements in your mailbox, and be sure to watch 
the 2-minute video featuring testimonials by current and former Project 
grads. I hope you will join me in supporting this worthy effort.

Faithfully yours,

John <[log in to unmask]>

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