UT Tyler Senior Art Major Earns National Fellowship

December 6, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan

Jennifer Jernigan of Scurry, a senior fine arts major at The University of Texas at Tyler, received a 2024 Regina Brown Undergraduate Student Fellowship by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.

Jernigan was one of three NCECA student members from more than 500 nationwide applicants selected for an annual fellowship in the amount of $2,000.

“I am so thrilled for Jennifer. This was an extremely competitive opportunity open to
undergraduates across the U.S., and I am so excited that her dedication and hard work is paying off,” said Merrie Wright, a UT Tyler professor and one of Jernigan’s instructors.

Jernigan, a figurative ceramic sculptor, uses the female form to highlight women’s mental health issues. Her current body of work captures moments of emotionality in abstracted situations and is currently on display through Friday, Dec. 13, at the UT Tyler Fine Arts Gallery Complex.

She will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in fine arts degree later this month and will pursue graduate studies at UT Tyler.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.