Richard M. Nixon Fellowship Program

Richard Millhouse Nixon, in his Whittier College days.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.

Current Nixon fellow (2010-2011): Melissa Samarin '11

  • Samarin's project for the upcoming year will focus on "From Detente to the Helsinki Accords: Nixon's Influence on Women's Rights in the Soviet Union."

Next FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITy (2011- 2012)

Whittier College Nixon Fellowship (Submissions accepted in Spring 2011)
Propose your own internship, project & budget; proposal must have some relationship to Nixon or his presidential administration.

  • Up to $5000 stipend
  • Term of fellowship: June 2011-May 2012

Past Nixon Fellows


Alex Tallarida '102009 -2010 Awardee:  Alex Tallarida '10
  • Tallarida chose to focus his fellowship research on the financial side of healthcare. In particular, he analyzes the benefits of health insurance and how hospital care fits into this model. Specific to his fellowship work, Tallarida delved into President Nixon’s efforts to reform healthcare in the early 1970s. For a related article he published on the Nixon Library Foundation website, he compared Nixon’s reform efforts with those of the current administration. To read Tallarida's published article, click here.
Caitlin Finley '092008-2009 Awardee: Caitlin Finley '09
  • Finley took a summer internship with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and researched approaches the Nixon administration took relevant toward refugees from the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. She concluded these insights were applicable to refugee situations around the world today, including those resulting from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. To watch Finley's presentation about her work at the United Nations, click here.


2008 - 2009 Presidental Election Year Awardees (granted in conjunction with The Washington Project)
   
           National Political Convention Fellows:
           Steve Addezio '09 & Dan Strauss '09
  • 2008 Nixon Fellow Steve Addezio '09 Addezio's Fellowship project revolved around the activities of super-delegates at the Democratic National Convention: "The goal was to watch the behavior of the super-delegates to see who would switch sides, as well as why and when. Based on those results, I developed an analysis of how [these key players] behaved towards the end."  To read Addezio's Fellowship blog, click here. To watch Addezio's presentation on his fellowship work, click here.
  • Daniel Strauss '08, Nixon Fellow Strauss's Fellowship project examined media coverage of issues, candidate activities, and party reaction leading up to the Republican National Convention. Specifically, he kept a record of what the media chooses to omit from broad coverage, and then analyzed potential reasons behind those choices. To read Strauss' Fellowship blog, click here. To watch Staruss' presentation on his fellowship work, click here.
           Presidential Inauguration Fellows:
           Neslie Tumulac '11 &  Teresa Baranowski '10
  • Baranowski '10 and Tumulac '11 traveled to Washington, DC to participate in a tenNeslie Tumulac '11 day Presidential Inauguration Seminar conducted by the Washington Center, culminating in attendance at the formal inauguration ceremony.

    Tumulac's overall project focused on the interplay of politics and the media during the Inauguration. To read Tumulac's blog, click here; to see her presentation on her fellowship work, click here.

     Teresa Baranowski '10
    Baranowski analyzed reactions by media and others pertaining to the presidential transition. To read Baranowski's blog, click here; to see her presentation on her fellowship work, click here..

 

2007 - 2008 Awardees: Hansen Hunt '08 & Nicole Greer '08

  • Hansen Hunt '08, Nixon FellowHunt's project capitalized on Nixon's policies toward foreign markets and international cooperation in commerce. Targeting small, local, goods-and-services in Mexico, Hunt analyzed which utilized and applied best practices, socially responsible means, and local resources; from there, he developed a website and marketing campaign to promote these small companies within the tourism market, broadening their overall consumer reach.
  • Greer chose to examine the lasting impact of Nixon's legacy on the nation, as well as on Whittier College. As part of her work, she interned with the Nixon Foundation and Library on a project digitizing newly declassified oral histories.