Sarah Merchant is a PhD candidate in Sociology at UC Berkeley. Her work bridges the fields of religious studies and political economy by exploring the entanglements between racial capitalism, the formation of the secular, and the Islamic world. Prior to Berkeley, she was a Pre-Doctoral Fellow in the Harvard Economics Department and a research assistant at the Harvard Kennedy School studying the racial and spatial determinants of economic inequality. She received her BA in Ethics, Politics, and Economics with honors from Yale University.
John Konicki is a fourth-year political science PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, where he specializes in American Politics, Political Behavior, and Methods. His research focuses primarily on developing a theory of ideological resentment to explain rising partisan animosity and political dysfunction. He also studies over-time changes in demographic and attitudinal sorting in the US electorate, the incentives of media elites, and the political socialization of young voters. John holds a BA in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. Before joining Berkeley’s program, he worked as an...
Andrea Lara-García is a PhD candidate in the department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley. A graduate of the University of Arizona, she studies the relationship between private property and state territoriality in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. In addition to the Mike Synar Graduate Fellowship, her work has been supported by the Arizona Historical Society, Bancroft Library Fellowship, and Mentored Research Award.
February 27, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm Please join us as we congratulate the 2026 recipients of the Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research and the Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowship.
The Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research 2026 Recipients:
Sabrina Hemedez Avenido (Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies; Minor: Public Policy): “Utang na Loob: A Family Affair into Civic Engagement Education in Filipino American Families”
Karla Vicencio Ramirez (Sociology & Legal Studies): “What...
The Synar Fellowship application is due by Sunday, November 30, 2025 at 11:59pm.
The application includes:
Brief questionnaire Dissertation synopsis (25o words or less) Statement of Purpose (including a timetable for completion of dissertation, budget, and justification of need) (1,500 words or less, not including timetable, budget, or brief budget justification) CV Transcript Name of recommender (must be one of your Dissertation Advisors) Recommendation
All applicants are required to secure a recommendation from a Dissertation Advisor. Your...
February 28, 2025 2:00pm - 4:00pm Please join us as we congratulate the 2025 recipients of the Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research and the Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowship.
The Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research 2025 Recipients:
Joselen X. Contreras (Public Health; Minor: Public Policy): "From Prop 187 to Power: How Rising Latino Representation in California's Assembly Has Shaped Healthcare Legislation"
Jack Guan (American Studies, Political Science; Minor: Public Policy): The...
February 23, 2024 2:00pm - 4:00pm Please join us as we congratulate the 2024 recipients of the Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research and the Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowship
The Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research 2024 Recipients:
Alina Zarate (Environmental Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies): "The Multiple Fronts of the Fight for Farm Worker Rights: An Analysis of UFW Political Advocacy in the 21st Century"
Andrew Huong Yet Chen (Political Science, Psychology): "Unveiling Voter...
February 24, 2023 2:00pm - 4:00pm Please join us as we congratulate the 2023 recipients of the Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research, and the Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowship.
An Awards Ceremony and Reception for the 2023 Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant and the Mike Synar Graduate Fellowship Recipients, by the Institute of Governmental Studies.
Each year, the Institute of Governmental Studies awards up to four Charles H. Percy research grants in the amount of $500 each to U.C. Berkeley undergraduate students who...
