U.Va. Miller Center Newest Fellows Aim to Influence National Discourse

The University of Virginia’s Miller Center has named nine promising scholars as its 2014-15 Miller Center National Fellows. Each will receive a one-year, $22,000 grant to complete dissertations that explore the historical roots of today’s most pressing political issues.

The fellowship also offers some unique guidance: it pairs fellows with a senior scholar in their field to serve as a mentor, and it encourages fellows to reach beyond the traditional boundaries of the academy by training them to write op-eds and to craft their scholarship for broader audiences.

The 2014-15 Miller Center Fellows are:

  • Betsy Beasley, Yale University (American Studies). Project: “Serving the World: Energy Contracting, Logistical Labors and the Culture of Globalization, 1945-2008”
  • Judge Glock, Rutgers University (History). Project: “The Search for a Balanced Economy: The Origins of Federal Intervention in the Mortgage Market, 1916-1960”
  • Adam Goodman, University of Pennsylvania (History). Project: “Mexican Migrants and the Rise of the Deportation Regime, 1942-2012”
  • Evan D. McCormick, University of Virginia (History). Project: “Beyond Revolution and Repression: U.S. Foreign Policy and Latin American Democracy, 1980-1989”
  • R. Joseph Parrott, University of Texas Austin (History). Project: “Reigniting the Liberation Fire: The Global Politics of Portuguese Decolonization, 1961-1976”
  • Emily Pears, University of Virginia (Politics). Project: “Chords of Sympathy: The Development of National Political Attachments in the 19th Century”
  • Mira Rapp-Hooper, Columbia University (International Relations). Project: “Absolute Alliances: Signaling Security Guarantees in International Politics”

David Reinecke, Princeton University (Sociology). Project: “Network Struggles: Re-wiring American Network Industries for Competition, 1970-2005” (Note: Reinecke has been selected as the Ambrose Monell Foundation Funded Fellow in Technology and Democracy.).

  • Simon Stevens, Columbia University (History). Project: “Strategies of Struggle: International Pressure and the End of Apartheid, 1958-1994”

“I’m thrilled to welcome the 15th class of fellows to the Miller Center,” said Brian Balogh, chair and founder of the fellowship program. “From an applicant pool that represented the leading doctoral programs in history, politics, international relations, sociology and American studies, we have assembled a class of young scholars whose cutting-edge work will not only shape their respective academic fields, but our understanding of important public issues.”

In its 15 years, the Miller Center’s fellowship program has helped launch the careers of more than 125 scholars and public affairs experts; 67 former fellows now teach at major universities, with 66 of them holding tenure or tenure-track positions. Fellows have published 50 books with major presses, and they regularly publish op-eds in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and other media.

On May 8 and 9, the current Miller Center fellows will conclude their year with a spring fellowship conference. The conference will feature presentations by the fellows and their mentors.

The gathering will also include a manuscript review of the forthcoming book, “When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War,” by Jeffrey Engel, director of Southern Methodist University’s Center for Presidential History. The review will also feature Andrew Card, former chief of staff to President George W. Bush; David Farber, history professor at Temple University; and Melani McAlister, associate professor at The George Washington University.

The conference is open to the public. For information, including a conference schedule, click here.

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