Academics
Nixon Fellowships
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Created to honor Whittier College alumnus (Class of 1934) and former U. S. President Richard M. Nixon, the Nixon Fellowship Program is designed to prepare exceptional students for informed citizenship and service through internships, scholarship, and research opportunities that echo Nixon's successful legacy in domestic and foreign policy. Students named Nixon Fellows will develop leadership skills, increase international understanding, and experience the rewards inherent in a career dedicated to the public good.
Nixon Fellowship award amounts will vary, depending on the project scope and timeframe, and may be attached to other independent academic opportunities, such as study abroad. A distinguished board of advisors reviews student applications for the program, and recommends candidates according to the nature and focus of the proposed project, and based on established academic criteria. Nixon's former U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, is an honorary member of this fellowship advisory board.
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Five Nixon Fellowships have been awarded for the 2008-2009:
Whittier College Nixon Fellowship (1)
Propose your own internship, project & budget (June 08- May 09); proposal must have some relationship to Nixon or his presidential administration.
- Up to $5000 stipend
- Term of fellowship: June 2008-May 2009
Awardee: Caitlin Finley '09
Finley will take a summer internship with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and research approaches the Nixon administration took relevant toward refugees from the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. She expects these insights will prove applicable to refugee situations around the world today, including those resulting from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.
Election Year: National Political Convention Nixon Fellowships (2)
Participate in either the Republican or Democratic Convention and related seminar facilitated by The Washington Center, August 2008, and propose a related research project.
- Washington, D.C. housing included
- Up to $5000 stipend (each)
- Term of fellowship: June 2008-May 2009
Awardees: Steve Addezio '09 and Dan Strauss '09
Addezio's Fellowship project will revolve around the activities of super-delegates at the Democratic National Convention: "The goal is to watch the behavior of the super-delegates to see who is going to switch sides, as well as why and when. Based on those results, I will then develop an analysis of how [these key players] behaved towards the end." (To read Addezio's Fellowship blog, click here.)
Strauss's Fellowship project will examine media coverage of issues, candidate activities, and party reaction leading up to the Republican National Convention. Specifically, he will keep a record of what the media chooses to omit from broad coverage, and then analyze potential reasons behind those choices. (To read Strauss' Fellowship blog, click here.)
Election Year: Presidential Inauguration Nixon Fellowships (2)
Participate in seminar program in Washington, D.C., facilitated by The Washington Center and attend the Presidential Inauguration.
- Washington, D.C. housing included
- $2500 stipend (each)
- Term of fellowship: January 2009
