The Gary Lease Fellowship Endowment

The Gary Lease Fellowship was established in 2006 for History of Consciousness professor Gary Lease by his current and former students, colleagues, and friends. This fund was created to mark the completion of his dedicated deanship, to acknowledge the remarkable influence he has had, and to express deep affection and respect.


The Lease Fund will be used to support promising Humanities scholars who embody Lease’s commitment to rigorous scholarship, engaged teaching and clear writing. The fellowship is awarded to graduate students based solely on academic merit with preference given to History of Consciousness students.


Professor Lease joined the UCSC faculty in 1973 and served as chair of the History of Consciousness Department from 1998 to 2004. Professor Lease was also dean of the Humanities Division from 1990 to 1995 and interim humanities dean from 2004 to 2006. He filled the position of chair of UCSC's Language Program through the summer of 2007.