2021-2022 Fellows Review

The Presidential Fellows Program began in 1970 with the mission of inspiring young people to pursue careers that would help solve our nation’s most pressing challenges. The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress has worked over the last 50 years to develop leadership skills in talented students across the country and instill a commitment to civil dialogue and public service. While the challenges of the 1970s have evolved, we find ourselves in similarly politically divisive times. As our nation becomes ever more polarized, we at CSPC find a rejuvenated sense of purpose in imparting quality leadership traits in the next generation to build a more robust democracy and future for all.

With this sense of purpose in mind, we welcomed the 2021-2022 Presidential Fellows class to Washington, D.C. for our first in-person leadership conference since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For me, one of the most rewarding experiences of the Fellowship is seeing the Fellows interact with their peers and the professionals we bring together for the conference. They have the opportunity to make connections with like-minded individuals from across the country and around the world, leading to long-lasting relationships they can rely on wherever their academic and professional careers may carry them. The class of 2020-2021 was also invited to attend the conference, giving back an experience that was unfortunately upended due to the pandemic. Attendees met with staff from the White House and Congress, NGO leaders, prominent business figures, and journalists. The Fellows also attended the Center’s annual awards dinner where they met with the awardees, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Angus King. The in-person experience was bolstered by virtual sessions held throughout the academic year on topics ranging from the Ukraine crisis to combatting climate change.

The cornerstone of the program is the year-long process of researching and writing a paper on a topic of importance to the presidency or Congress. In the pages that follow, we are proud to showcase twenty-five exceptional research papers produced by the 2021-2022 Fellows cohort.

Five of those papers were selected for special recognition for extraordinary research:

Sofia Pina Jaubert from ESADE (Spain) was awarded the David M. Abshire Award for Outstanding Paper by an international Fellow for her paper entitled, “To Collaborate or Not: The Question Facing the United States-Mexico Bilateral Security Policy.”

Blaine Ravert from Westminster College was awarded the Robert A. Kilmarx Award for Best Military, Intelligence, or National Security Strategic Analysis for his paper entitled, “Presidential Control Over Autonomous Weapons.”

Katie Strickland from the University of Arkansas was awarded the Donald B. Marron Award for the Best Historical Analysis for her paper entitled, “By the Will of God’ Analyzing the Intersection of Faith and the Rhetoric of Foreign Policy Within Early Twentieth Century Presidential Inaugural Addresses.”

Thomas Vilinskis from the United States Naval Academy was awarded the Richard H. Solomon Award for the Most Original Paper on Foreign Policy or Diplomacy for his paper entitled, “Abandoning Ambiguity: Should the United States Extend Diplomatic Recognition to Taiwan?”

Nicholas Mcdonald from the United States Military Academy at West Point, was awarded the James R. Moffett Award for Most Original Paper on the Modern Presidency or Congress for his paper entitled, “Securing the Ballot Box: Modern Elections and Their Consequences.”

We are proud to recognize these Fellows for their outstanding work, and we congratulate all of the members of the 2021-2022 class on their successful completion of the Presidential Fellows Program.

We are grateful to the Fellowship sponsors for their generous support of the program. Without their help, we could not provide such a meaningful experience for our Fellows. We are also thankful to our partner colleges and universities for their commitment to this program and their participating students. I would like to include a thank you to the Center’s interns, Yazmine-Gizelle Ali, Sofia Pina Jaubert, and Alan Liu for their hard work in putting together this year’s Fellows Review.

Glenn C. Nye III
President & CEO
Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress