Feature

Program on Political Institutions Names Two New Graduate Fellows

The Program on Political Institutions (PPI) has named Felicity Vabulas and Faisal Ahmed as its two graduate fellows for this academic year. Vabulas and Ahmed are both second-year PhD students at the Harris School.

The fellows will each receive a $1,000 flexible grant to be used towards their research as well as preference in applying for the two types of grants PPI offers. "It gives them more exposure in their work," said William Howell, associate professor and PPI director. "Additionally, we encourage them to attend various functions, the workshops and conferences the Program runs."

Vabulas's research concentrates on democratization of and elections in developing countries. She is now looking at two types of organizations and their influence in these elections: multinational and regional organizations, and electoral management organizations.

Her focus in international policy arose out of her master's work at the Harris School along with summer internships in Washington, DC, for the federal government. She explained, "I think my research interest came from taking what I learned here and having internships where policy meets the real world."

She continued, "Any money is huge when you're a PhD student." While she imagines a large part of the grant will be spent on books, she is also looking forward to having funds to attend conferences.

Also early in his research, Ahmed has focused on international institutions and international development. However, in his current research he is looking at domestic institutions for a paper with Howell about Supreme Court justices' voting records during times of war and peace.

Ahmed received an AM in international relations from the University and was drawn to the Harris School's PhD program in part because of his graduate work with Duncan Snidal. He said, "I like the Harris School because it can cater to my needs, but I can take a variety of classes and am not constrained to my area of research."

Of the being named a fellow he said, "I'll have some additional money to go to conferences and be able to present papers. And just having the opportunity to work with the professors and students at the Harris School who have research interests that intersect with mine [is invaluable]."

Selections were made based on the students' scholarship, contributions to the School's intellectual life, and interest in political institutions. "We'll continue to name graduate fellows in the coming years and we're increasingly looking for ways to support research conducted around the University-both by faculty and graduate students-on political institutions," said Howell.