2023-2024 Fellows Review

For over half a century, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress has aimed to inspire and provide college students with the skills to become civic-minded leaders. The program was established in a time of political turmoil with the goal of bridging the divide between students and the government. Although the format of the program has changed over the past decades, the core mission remains the same and is as relevant as ever as we continue to navigate the current political climate in our nation. We hope our Fellows will continue to contribute to a more resilient democracy and a brighter collective future with a commitment to civil dialogue and public service.

During their year-long Fellowship journey, students gain an in-depth understanding of the U.S. government and forge connections with like-minded peers, experts, and public officials through virtual meetings and a week-long leadership conference in Washington, D.C. This year, Fellows met with former Fellows alum, Tarun Chhabra, the Senior Director for Technology and National Security at the NSC; discussed the president’s role in shaping immigration policy with “Mack” McLarty, Chairman of McLarty Associates and former chief-of-staff to President Bill Clinton, and Joshua Bolten, CEO of Business Roundtable and former chief-of-staff to President George W. Bush; and engaged in conversations about U.S. foreign policy with Tyson Barker, the Deputy Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, and experts from RAND and the American Enterprise Institute.

We are very proud of our Fellows for their engagement with each other and speakers at our conference along with the effort they put into their research papers, we are confident they will uphold the mission of the program. This year, twenty-two outstanding research papers were selected for publication. Of that group, I am thrilled to note five Fellows who were honored during the conference for their outstanding achievement:

Yo Nonoyama (Kyoto University) was awarded the David M. Abshire Award for Most Outstanding Paper by an International Fellow for his paper, “Diverse Voices, Divided Votes: How Witness Engagement Shapes Partisan Bill Voting.”

Marshall VandenOever (University of North Georgia) was awarded the Donald B. Marron Award for Best Historical Analysis for his paper, “The Presidency and Labor: A Policy of Pragmatism.”

Nizarindani Pineda García (Universidad de las Américas Puebla) was awarded the Richard H. Solomon Award for the Most Original Paper on Foreign Policy or Diplomacy for her paper, “Evaluating the Central American Minors Program: Evolution and Opportunities for Cooperation with Mexico.”

Christian Dionisio (United States Military Academy, West Point) was awarded the James R. Moffett Award for Most Original Paper on the Modern Presidency or Congress for his paper, “Stalled Executive & Active States: Explaining President Biden’s Inaction on Bail Reform.”

Artem Ilyanok (Columbia University) was awarded the Robert A. Kilmarx Award for Best Military, Intelligence, or National Security Strategic Analysis for his paper, “Beyond Objective Control: Civil-Military Relations for a New Era.”

We congratulate the class of 2023-2024 on their successful completion of the Presidential Fellows Program which would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors and partner colleges and universities.

We are indebted to Daphne Nwobike and Saakshi Philip, CSPC’s summer interns, for their editorial work on this year’s Fellows Review under the guidance of Sydney Johnson, Program Coordinator of the Presidential Fellows Program.

I hope as you read through this collection of papers, you’ll be inspired by the thoughtfulness and courage of these future leaders to engage in meaningful conversations about our country.

Glenn C. Nye III

President & CEO