Summer Research Fellows

The Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions will sponsor up to 13 students for Summer Fellowships to pursue faculty-mentored summer research projects focused on themes related to the Institute’s priorities (see the Institute’s website). We offer two sorts of fellowships. 

James Madison Fellowships

Applications open: Closed for 2026. Applications open in February 2027.
Application deadline: April 2027

The James Madison Summer Fellowships are for students pursuing projects on or off campus under the guidance of Colgate professors. Fellows receive a $6,000 stipend for the summer; current first-year, sophomore, junior, and senior students may apply. 

How to Apply

Application materials for the James Madison fellowships should include: 

1. A cover letter, 350 words: Explaining the research question, its significance, and the method of inquiry
2. An unofficial transcript
3. Brief one-paragraph email from a sponsoring faculty member confirming their sponsorship. This email should be sent to the Kraynak Institute directors. (Faculty sponsors of institute fellowships receive a $1,500 honorarium.) 

International Security and Intelligence Program (ISI)

Emmanuel College, Cambridge University
We will also sponsor up to two students who have applied directly to the summer program and who are accepted. Students sponsored by the Kraynak Institute to attend receive full program fees and airfare. This program is best suited to current juniors and seniors. To be considered for sponsorship, students must present official acceptance into the ISI program.

Learn more about the program, dates, and application instructions

Questions and submissions should be sent to Robert Kraynak at rkraynak@colgate.edu, Carolyn C. Guile at cguile@colgate.edu, and David Dudrick at ddudrick@colgate.edu.

2026 Summer Fellows and Faculty Sponsors

James Madison Fellows

Boen Beavers ’26

“How the Development of State Cybersecurity Apparatuses in Member States of the European Union Has Been Shaped by Broader Trends of Securitization Within State-building”

Faculty Sponsor: Juan Fernando Ibarra Del Cueto, assistant professor of political science

Ella Benitez ’28

“The Dangers of Dissidence: Comparative Case Studies of Political Repression in Russia”

Masha Hedberg, assistant professor of political science

Tyler Couture ’27

“Historical Revisionism: Two Tales of Teutoburg”

Irina Kogan, assistant professor of German

Jeremy Cunliffe Saballos ’27

“Alternative Facts: The Rhetoric of Science-Skepticism and the Clash Between Free Speech, Reason, and Proper Governance”

Fred Chernoff, Harvey Picker Professor of International Relations

Claire Escher ’28

“Dreams, Deception, and the Politics of Truth in Vergil’s Aeneid”

Geoffrey Benson, associate professor of the Classics; Chair, department of the Classics

Jack Gross ’27

“The July 8, 1779, British Raid on Fairfield and Norwalk, Connecticut”

Graham Hodges, George Dorland Langdon, Jr. Professor of History

Emma Lepkowicz ’28

“Why are the Picker Gallery’s Late-antique Egyptian Relief Sculptures Beginning to Deteriorate and What Can Be Done to Prevent Further Damage?”

Elizabeth Marlowe, professor of art; director, museum studies program

Xianyu (Rebecca) Li ’28

“17th-Century Chinese Reinterpretations of the Jesuit Engravings Series, Evangelicae Historiae Imagines (1593)”

Carolyn Guile, associate professor of art; co-director, Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions

Luke Lostumbo ’28

“Efficiency and The Panopticon: Living Well in a Culture of Death”

David Dudrick, George Carleton Jr. Professor of Philosophy; co-director, Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions

Amy Meng ’26

“Study of the impacts of socio-political ideology informing psychiatric and psychological services on patients' well-being”

Rebecca Shiner, Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences; chair, department of psychological and brain sciences

Bennett Rowe ’26

“The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in the Period 1920-1932 Asking the Question, ‘How did Americans Mourn in the Wake of Unimaginable Tragedy?'"

Carolyn Guile, associate professor of art; co-director, Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions

Hannah Zubatyy ’28

“A Thomist Critique of Sartre's Moral Relativism”

David Dudrick, George Carleton Jr. Professor of Philosophy; co-director, Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions

International Security & Intelligence (ISI) Summer Program Recipients 

Abby Call ’26

Lauren Levin ’26

Gillian Lustenberger ’27

2025 Summer Fellows and Faculty Sponsors

James Madison Fellows

Jeremiah Bauer ’26     

“Russia's Patronage of Global Authoritarianism”
Faculty Sponsor: Jessica Graybill, professor of Russian & Eurasian Studies

James Conrad ’25

“The Education of Alexander the Great”
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Tober, assistant professor of the Classics

Alexander Di Napoli ’26 

“Deterrence and Diplomacy: South Korea’s Response to a Nuclear North and a Divided Indo-Pacific”
Valerie Morkevičius, associate professor of political science

Benjamin Haber  ’25

“Assessing the Military-Industrial Complex: Do Defense Contracts in Wartime Serve National Security or Business Interests?”
Faculty Sponsor: Ed Fogarty, associate professor of political science

Emma Hanlon  ’27

“Rhetoric and Power: Exploring the Expansion of Executive Authority in the Bush and Trump Administrations”
Faculty Sponsor: Annie Benn, assistant professor of political science

MG King ’27

“The Role of Umbrae (ghosts/shades) in Lucan’s Poem on Civil War, Pharsalia”
Faculty Sponsor: Geoffrey Benson, associate professor of the Classics

Jordan Maxham ’26 

“Media Ecosystems and the Asymmetric Rise of the Populist Right in Europe”
Faculty Sponsor: Dominika Koter, associate professor of political science

Amy Meng  ’26 

“A Comparative Study of Reformed, Pentecostal, and Catholic Theologies”
Faculty Sponsor: David Dudrick, George Carleton Jr. Professor of Philosophy

Olivia Pascione  ’26

“Freedom vs. Security: Reconciling Civil Liberties and Nuclear Strategies”
Faculty Sponsor: Fred Chernoff, Harvey Picker Chair of International Relations

London Pettibone  ’27

“Affective Polarization, Partisanship, and Democracy: The Rising Threat of Lone-Wolf Terrorism”
Faculty Sponsor: Danielle Lupton, associate professor of political science

Peyton Taylor  ’27

“Reviving Trust in American Journalism through the Proper Use of Polling”
Faculty Sponsor: Matt Luttig, associate professor of political science

Callen Tortolani  ’26

“Environmentalism in the US and Australia: The Role of Constitutional Foundations, Free Enterprise, and Individual Freedom in Shaping and Implementing Environmental Policies”
Faculty Sponsor: Priscilla Van Wynsberghe, associate professor of biology

Alice Walton ’26

“Economic Freedom and Labor Dynamics in Great Britain's Industrial Revolution”
Faculty Sponsor: Chad Sparber, W. Bradford Wiley Chair in International Economics

International Security & Intelligence (ISI) Summer Program Recipients 

Sawyer Brown ’25

William Keiser ’27

Past Fellows