Valerie Li, a 3rd year Ph.D. student in the department, has been named the recipient of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy’s Eleanor Roosevelt fellowship for the 2024-25 academic year. Li’s research focuses on how ordinary citizens pursue individual rights, participate in collective actions, and advocate for democracy given the high risks of doing so in autocratic regimes.
The Roosevelt fellowship was established by Susan Welch, former dean of the College of the Liberal Arts. Named after one of Welch’s personal heroes, the program began as a summer research scholarship in 2017 and transitioned to a yearlong fellowship after a bequest from Welch following her death in 2022.
Learn more about Valerie and the fellowship here: https://www.psu.edu/news/liberal-arts/story/political-science-doctoral-student-second-eleanor-roosevelt-memorial-fellow/
