Gary L. McDowell Institute 2026-27 Student Fellows Program
True to the principles that inspire the McDowell Institute, the Student Fellows Program is designed to enrich the intellectual experience of students interested in political, social, and economic thought. Students selected to be fellows will join an ideologically diverse community of curious people who love to read interesting books, think freely about big questions, and speak openly about provocative ideas with other students, professors, and prominent guest lecturers. As more than one fellow has remarked, “This is what college is all about.”
The 2026-27 fellows will participate in a co-curricular reading group that will discuss American legal scholar Cass Sunstein’s book On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom. Fellows will consider Sunstein’s arguments for the claim that liberalism and its history are misunderstood by critics on both the right and the left. During Sunstein’s visit to campus in the spring, fellows will have the opportunity to meet with the author in small groups to discuss the book and ask questions that came up in their reading.
Fellows will also participate in small group discussions with McDowell Institute guest lecturer Lucas Morel and panelists in the Forum on Conservative Thought.
Online applications open in the fall of each academic year.
2026-27 Seminar Leaders
 |
Dr. Kevin Cherry, |
 |
Dr. Erik Craft, |
 |
Dr. Sam Director, Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law (PPEL) |
 |
Dr. Sandra Peart, Dean, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies |
2026-27 Scholar-for-the-Day
 |
Cass Sunstein, |
2025-26 Student Fellows
 |
Bengisu Akyol, '28, mathematical economics |
 |
Mohamed Aziz, '28, political science and leadership studies |
 |
Sawyer Bernard, '27, PPEL |
 |
CJ Blastos, '27, leadership studies and political science |
|
Angelos Charalampos Bouras, '27, economics and leadership studies |
|
 |
Emma Brashear, '27, economics |
 |
Charlotte Bray, '27, PPEL and leadership studies |
 |
Megan Bucholtz, '29, undeclared |
 |
Theo Burdick, '28, PPEL and leadership studies |
 |
Nora Cahill, '27, French and leadership studies |
 |
Alexa Carnes, '28, PPEL |
 |
Grayson Casey, '29, undeclared |
 |
Kate Chasin, '26, leadership studies and PPEL |
 |
Sophia Chilelli, '28, PPEL |
 |
Lucas Chuidian, '27, biochemistry/molecular biology and health studies |
 |
Jack DeKorte, '26, leadership studies and political science |
 |
Sarah Ebinger, '26, PPEL |
 |
TJ Elrod, '28, PPEL |
 |
Abigail Fears, '28, health studies and political science |
 |
Zack Filene, '27, leadership studies and PPEL |
|
Grace Gaiser, '26, political science, Latin, and classics |
|
 |
Claire Geibel, '26, business administration |
 |
Abby Green, '26, leadership studies, PPEL, and Italian studies |
 |
Nate Grossman, '28, leadership studies and philosophy |
 |
Sydney Hass, '26, leadership studies and American studies |
|
Ella Jacobs, '28, history and political science |
|
 |
Theo Johnson, '26, English and PPEL |
 |
Quinton Jones, '27, political science and history |
 |
Evan Jordan, '27, history and global studies |
 |
Natalia Jung, '28, leadership studies and history |
 |
Nidhi Karnik, '29, undeclared |
 |
Adam Kasti, '27, leadership studies and political science |
 |
Carter Ketchum, '28, mathematical economics and |
 |
Kalina Kulig, '26, PPEL |
 |
Noah Levinsohn, '28, political science |
 |
Taylor Levy, '27, PPEL |
 |
Anna Lozano, '26, biology |
 |
Liv Mann, '27, leadership studies, global studies, and Russian studies |
 |
Ned Markham, '28, business administration |
|
Alex Masci, '27, history and leadership studies |
|
 |
John McConnell, '28, political science and Russian studies |
 |
Haleigh McPeak, '27, leadership studies and PPEL |
 |
Veronica Melendi, '27, leadership studies and sociology |
 |
Liz Milliot, '26, PPEL and leadership studies |
 |
Ella-Brooke Morgan, '27, political science |
 |
Marcela Pizzato, '27, PPEL and leadership studies |
 |
Nick Ryan, '27, leadership studies and PPEL |
|
Lucy Sanderson, '27, political science and leadership studies |
|
 |
Mariam Shaikh, '28, political science and economics |
 |
Jack Sheldon, '28, leadership studies and PPEL |
 |
Katie Sinclair, '26, political science |
 |
Andrew Swehla, '29, undeclared |
 |
Charlotte Tisdale, '26, leadership studies and health studies |
 |
Sydney Vermeeren, '28, global studies |
 |
Josef Vigorita, '27, leadership studies, health studies, and economics |
 |
Josh Walker, '26, PPEL and philosophy |
 |
Hannah-Claire Ward, '26, psychology |
 |
Annabel Weimer, '28, leadership studies |
 |
Liz Wu, '29, undeclared |