Anissa Joseph, a Ph.D. candidate in political science, is the inaugural recipient of the Walter J. Stone Endowed Fellowship, which will provide a $6,000 summer stipend to advance her research.
Joseph, who studies identity, politics, conflict and Latin America, said that this kind of funding is critical at a time when it feels like resources are scarce for young academics.
“Funding like this not only offers young scholars opportunities to pursue their research but to do so without limitations and gives us time back to spend time writing and producing that work,” said Joseph.
In April, Joseph published research in the Journal of Politics in Latin America on public debates over the use of race-based quotas in Brazil. She co-authored the paper with Juan Tellez, an assistant professor of political science at UC Davis.
“She is very ambitious, as evidenced by publishing so early into her Ph.D. career, having conducted original field work,” said Tellez. “Most political scientists ‘stay in their lane’ and largely interact with political science scholarship, but she’s also very interested in what other disciplines are doing.”
Building on a professor’s contributions to research and community
This new endowment is named for Walter J. Stone, a professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science and former department chair. He studies voting and elections, political representation and political parties. His most recent book is Candidates and Voters: Ideology, Valence, and Representation in U.S Elections (Cambridge, 2017).
“Walt received the news with his trademark humility,” said Amber Boydstun, professor and co-chair of the Department of Political Science. "The endowment is a fitting way to commemorate Walt’s extraordinary contributions to our field and to so many of us personally.”
The endowment has already received more than $140,000 in gifts and pledges, including principal donor contributions from Ron Rapoport and Lonna Atkeson. Rapoport is John Marshall Professor Emeritus of the Department of Government at the College of William and Mary and a longtime research collaborator of Stone’s. Atkeson is the LeRoy Collins Eminent Scholar in Civic Education and Political Science as well as director of the LeRoy Collins Institute at Florida State University.
The endowment is still open for contributions with a goal of $200,000 to permanently support up to two summer fellowships of at least $5,000. The development team continues to accept contributions to the endowment.
“Our sincere gratitude to the many people who have made this gift possible and, most of all, to Walt for being an exceptional colleague, scholar, teacher, mentor and friend,” said Boydstun.
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