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Info For
Carl and Cindy Hayden
Thanks to Carl LL.D. ’99 and Cindy Hayden ’71, area students and teachers have new opportunities to walk in Mark Twain’s footsteps. They created the Carl and Cindy Hayden Prize and the Carl and Cindy Hayden Teaching Fellowship. Both are exciting opportunities that include access to Quarry Farm, where Mark Twain spent more than 20 summers writing his most famous works.
The Hayden Prize and Fellowship are administered by the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes and the Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies (CMTS).
The Hayden Prize is a research and writing competition for area high school students. Four finalists will have access to Quarry Farm from January through April. One student will win $10,000.
The Hayden Teaching Fellowship is for K-12 teachers, librarians, and/or educational support specialists. It includes a $5,000 honorarium and a two-week residency at Quarry Farm to conduct research and develop lesson plans that will enhance their teaching of Mark Twain studies in their classrooms.
"Cindy and I believe in the power of high expectations, in the power of great teaching, and in the capacity of young people to meet formidable challenges,” said Carl Hayden, Chancellor Emeritus of the Board of Regents and former Chair of the State University of New York (SUNY). “The Hayden Prize and the Hayden Fellowship celebrate each of these things and our historical association with the Langdon family, Quarry Farm, and America's greatest writer, Mark Twain. This has been made possible by a remarkable collaboration between CMTS and the Community Foundation. We are most grateful."
Access to Quarry Farm is typically limited to Twain scholars, so the Hayden Prize and Fellowship offer a unique experience to community members. The Farm is the family home of Twain’s sister- and brother-in-law, Susan and Theodore Crane. In 1982, Jervis Langdon Jr., Mark Twain’s grand-nephew, donated Quarry Farm to Elmira College, stipulating that the property be preserved and used to support scholarship regarding the life and literary works of Mark Twain.
Teachers and students will have access to a world-class selection of primary and secondary sources at Quarry Farm related to Mark Twain Studies and nineteenth-century United States literature and history. They are also welcome to use the Mark Twain Archive located in the Elmira College Gannett-Tripp Library.
Quarry Farm
"The function of Quarry Farm and CMTS is to promote and support Mark Twain Studies, and this new fellowship does exactly that for our community,” said Joseph Lemak, Director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies. “We’re excited to help teachers and educational support staff enhance Mark Twain Studies in local classrooms."
While new, the Hayden Teaching Fellowship was piloted by Kristie Gates Radford ’00, a teacher in the Corning-Painted Post Area School District and an Elmira College alumna.
Kristie Gates Radford ’00 completes research at Quarry Farm
“The Teaching Fellowship experience felt surreal,” shared Radford. “Quarry Farm has offered me a unique and deeply personal research experience. Access to the collections has enriched the depth and texture of a lesson series I created exploring Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Students will be able to compare the experience of Hurston’s character, Janie, with Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, and the speaker of Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics, “reincarnated.”
Applications for the 2027 Hayden Prize and Teaching Fellowship will be accepted until November 30, 2026. We will announce the application deadlines for future years each year.
Review eligibility and application requirements for the Hayden Teaching Fellowship, which applies to K-12 teachers, librarians, and/or educational support specialists working in Chemung, Steuben, Schuyler, or Yates counties.
Submit applications to Dr. Joseph Lemak, the Director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies, at jlemak@elmira.edu. Applicants are notified when applications are received and are notified of the fellowship competition outcome by January 31, 2027.
High school juniors living and attending school in Chemung, Steuben, Schuyler, or Yates counties with demonstrated interest in historical research and/or creative writing.
Round 1: Apply via written submission by visiting www.communityfund.org and clicking “Student Login” in the top right corner. Apply to the Hayden Prize by November 30, 2026.
Round 2: Four finalists will be selected in December and afforded access to Quarry Farm to work on Final Projects in January through April 2027. One winner will receive $10,000 in May 2027.
Contact Katie Strickler for more information and questions: 607-739-3900 (call), 607-301-0999 (text only), or cmm@communityfund.org.
