Our Partners

Collaboration Expands our Efforts.
University of Houston partner building

University of Houston

An important component of the present work of the Rowan Foundation involves our partnership with the University of Houston.

As a writing and communications major, Alexandra Rowan was an avid writer and was pursuing a professional career in the field. Sadly, her life was cut short by a massive pulmonary embolism or blood clot in her lung, and her dreams of becoming a published writer were dashed.

Today, we are partnered with the English Department and Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston, as we strive to nurture and support students with similar aspirations. This new partnership allows us to continue funding internships and writing contests, and it now also allows our efforts to expand and interface with the University of Houston Boldface Writers’ Conference. We’re excited about our ongoing work with the University, and we enjoy that we are able to be more involved on the ground here to support the program and also to nurture additional support and exposure in our local community of Houston.

Working closely with the English Department and Creative Writing Program of the University of Houston, we have established a three-pronged program offered exclusively to currently enrolled undergraduates there. This program includes:

  • Rowan Internship Grants for Students. This funding allows students to work as interns with relevant publishing, marketing, and other writing-oriented businesses during students’ summer breaks. The funds make these internships equivalent to a typical summer job, as students gain valuable relevant experience while simultaneously earning money to help cover tuition and other university costs. These internships also provide a valuable addition to their resumes that should increase job prospects post-graduation.

    In 2024, the Rowan Interns worked with various entities and businesses across the country. Not only did they gain important work experience and sharpen their writing skills, but the interns are an indispensable asset to their organizations. To learn more about the most recent Rowan Interns and where they worked in 2024, please visit the UH-Rowan Internship webpage.

  • The Boldface Conference for Emerging Writers. This week-long event is held every year on the University of Houston campus and is hosted by students on the staff of the undergraduate literary journal, Glass Mountain. Well-known writers from all genres spend time with students discussing their work and career, but more importantly they provide advice and input to students’ work so that they can improve the quality of their writing. Read more about the Rowan Foundation’s support of the Boldface Conference in 2023 here.

  • Rowan Foundation Writing Competition. Held during the summer, this competition awards three monetary prizes in recognition of the best fiction, non-fiction, and poetry submissions from an undergraduate University of Houston student. Prize values are sufficient to make it a desirable award any student will welcome. Candidates are selected by faculty from the student body. Check out the 2023 winners and their impressive work here.

Alexandra Memorial Foundation logo
Alex standing in front of partner University of Pittsburgh

In recognition of Alexandra’s passion for creative writing, the Rowan Foundation has partnered with major academic institutions to support the similar aspirations of other young students.

Presently, we are partnered with the English Department and Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston. However, one of the first partnerships forged by the Foundation following her passing was with the University of Pittsburgh English Department.

Alex graduated from the University of Pittsburg in 2013, just months prior to experiencing a deadly blood clot. The Foundation’s work with the University of Pittsburgh was a great launching pad for our efforts to support internships and the creative writing festival there. We are proud of the early results stemming from our previous six-year relationship with the University of Pittsburgh, including 62 internships, 18 creative writing prizes, and six guest authors hosted during the school’s annual writing festivals.