2007-2008 MIKE SYNAR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS

The Center for the Study of Representation at the Institute of Governmental Studies is able to offer the Mike Synar Research Fellowship because of a generous donation from Bill Brandt, a member of the Board of Advisers of the Institute of Governmental Studies.

This fellowship honors Mike Synar, the former U.S. Congressman from the 2nd District of Oklahoma from 1979 to 1995. As a member of Congress, Synar was praised for his independent and critical voice and for his dedication to public service. He was first elected to Congress at the age of 28 and sadly passed away when only 45. As a member of Congress, Synar was praised for his independent and critical voice and for his dedication to the public interest. More information about the former Congressman and his life is available here.

Synar Research Fellowships are awarded to distinguished UC Berkeley graduate students who are writing their dissertations on an aspect of American politics, including public opinion, electoral behavior, civic participation, government institutions, social movements, and public policy. Each year, the Center for the Study of Representation will award up to five Synar Research Fellowships of up to $3,000 each. The Center for the Study of Representation encourages applicants from a broad range of disciplines (Political Science, History, Economics, Sociology, Law, Public Policy, Journalism, and other disciplines) to apply.


2007-2008 Recipients

Corey Brooks (History): "Building an Anti-Slavery House: Political Abolitionists and Congress, 1836-1861"

Peter Hanson (Political Science): "The Institutional Effects of Partisan Polarization in Congress"

Jennifer Randles (Sociology): "Learning and Legislating to Love: U.S. Relationship Education and the Modern Marriage Crisis"

Rocio Titiunik (Agriculture and Resource Economics): "Empirical Investigations in Political Economy and Representation"

Kevin Wallsten (Political Science): "Public Opinion and the New ‘New Media’"