This spring the Foundation reached an exciting milestone of our Graduate Fellowship Program as we selected our new 2023-24 Fellowship cohort, marking the start of the program’s 15th academic year! With the addition of our new Fellows, the Foundation has been delighted to award Fellowship grants totaling more than $3.9 million to support over 200 Fellows since the program’s inaugural grants in 2009. To commemorate these recent milestones and the program’s development, we asked a few alumni within our Graduate Fellowship Network to reflect on the impact of their experience as a Fellow, share some insights on what makes the program and network unique and more. We hope you enjoy hearing firsthand from some of our terrific alumni!
Below we are delighted to include a compilation of insights from three talented alumni representing various career paths and academic backgrounds: a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State (Graduate Fellow 2009-10, Missouri State University); Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council & Founder and CEO of SolidIntel Inc. (Graduate Fellow 2015-16, The University of Texas at Austin); and a Professor of Ethics at U.S. Air Force Air War College (Graduate Fellow 2012-14, University of Chicago).
1. Can you describe a bit about the impact that your Fellowship funding support had?
“The Rumsfeld Foundation’s funding support was crucial in helping me complete my graduate studies and begin my career in public service as an aide on Capitol Hill. The ability to pursue that opportunity to work in the federal government allowed me to quickly develop skills that I carry with me today. Those entry level positions on Congressional staffs come with relatively low compensation levels, which I may not have been in the position to consider without the prior support of the Rumsfeld Foundation.” – Graduate Fellow 2009-10, Missouri State University
“The Fellowship funding allowed me to minimize the outside work I needed to do (working as a TA or RA) so that I could focus on finishing my dissertation and defending. Without the financial support, I may have needed to extend my time as a PhD candidate. I was then able to go straight from the PhD into a fellowship in Senator Sasse’s office. I’m not sure that opportunity would have existed without the Rumsfeld Fellowship and the time to finish the dissertation.” – Graduate Fellow 2015-16, The University of Texas at Austin
“The Fellowship allowed me to focus on writing my dissertation and finish my doctoral program rather than having to teach or pursue other funding to support my family. It was incredibly helpful. I received much encouragement and wisdom as I was transitioning to the world of university teaching and research. The network and relationships have been valuable in surprising ways. I have made relationships with other scholars that have endured beyond the Fellowship and become fruitful in terms of collaboration in a number of venues.” – Graduate Fellow 2012-14, University of Chicago
2. What have been some of the opportunities or benefits that have come your way from being connected with the Fellowship Network?
“The simplest benefit was the wonderful opportunity to learn from Secretary Rumsfeld. He and I shared an (apparently) unique interest in the significance of the Ford Presidency for U.S. foreign policy and I will always treasure his insights into that unique time in history. But separate from that very special opportunity to learn from someone who was so central to the path of the U.S. and the world in the past 50 years, this program has created an incredibly strong network and I don’t think we know yet the totality of the impact it will have. I have friends in and outside of D.C. who I see only because of the alumni network’s commitment to attending the yearly conferences, but I don’t think we’ll see yet what the fruits of all those friendships will be.” – Graduate Fellow 2015-16, The University of Texas at Austin
“One very concrete benefit was being invited to publish a book chapter in an edited volume when I was a Fellow by another faculty Adviser. It was totally by chance that I ran into this person and we struck up a conversation, but that is part of the value of networks. A benefit for a scholar and professor like myself is building relationships with other scholars, whether in your particular field or not. Those relationships carry on well beyond the Fellowship and can often be very helpful and productive.” – Graduate Fellow 2012-14, University of Chicago
“By far the greatest value from my affiliation with the Rumsfeld Foundation has been the opportunity to meet and collaborate with fellow alumni from the network. When I first began thinking about a possible switch in my career from the Department of Defense to the State Department, the Foundation helped connect me to other alumni working there, who were great sources of information as I weighed the career shift. Even outside of my career field, I have learned a great deal from my colleagues doing fascinating and essential work in academia, the private sector and other areas of government. Developing that broader appreciation of the accomplishments of fellow alumni has been a real highlight of the Fellowship Network.” – Graduate Fellow 2009-10, Missouri State University
3. What makes the Foundation’s Graduate Fellowship Program unique from other scholarship programs?
“The level of attention that you receive and the resources and guidance are unique. The commitment of the faculty Advisers and their willingness to participate is special. The many people that are brought in to talk and engage with Fellows in diverse venues is also unique. I have received other scholarships and fellowships, but none sought to really enrich and help me as much as the Rumsfeld Fellowship.” – Graduate Fellow 2012-14, University of Chicago
“While I do not have a wide knowledge of many scholarship programs, I have always recognized the quality and potential of Fellowship recipients identified by the faculty Advisers. This network draws on universities from across the country to select Fellows who have demonstrated a commitment to public service, a free exchange of ideas and the intangible quality of leadership. As a scholarship that focuses on ideals and principles, I find its mission incredibly unique in identifying and building continuing generations of leaders in our society.” – Graduate Fellow 2009-10, Missouri State University
“The Graduate Fellowship Program is unique in that it unites graduate students who are committed to going into public service while helping them gain a network of peers to achieve those goals. It’s also a long-term program…as an alum, I am able to be involved almost as much as when I was a student/current Fellow.” – Graduate Fellow 2015-16, The University of Texas at Austin
4. Can you provide some insight as to the shared qualities of the Graduate Fellows and what unites Fellows, even with different backgrounds and interest areas?
“A strong sense of public service is one major commonality. Whether in academe or government work, there is a general conviction that service in government, academia, or society for the good of the American people is a good thing. Another shared trait is a belief in the goodness of the basic founding principles of our country and the need to bolster and renew those basic principles in this next generation.” – Graduate Fellow 2012-14, University of Chicago
“As alumni are getting older, you see us moving in different directions: government service, academia, private sector. But the one uniting thing, no matter the paths we take, is our commitment to using our jobs to make policy better. Be it through understanding the applicability of history or mentoring students who want to become practitioners or developing policy ourselves, we all seem to be trying to get at little pieces of how to make policy better.” – Graduate Fellow 2015-16, The University of Texas at Austin
“I look forward to alumni events throughout the year for the opportunity to hear from colleagues in very different careers, doing incredible work, all motivated by a common desire to lend their talents to advancing the vision of a secure, free and better future for the United States. The conversations at Foundation events are so engaging because of these unique perspectives, experiences and insights that Fellows bring to the discussion. If I could identify a common thread that unites Fellows, it is the sense that the Foundation’s core values of leadership, free systems and public service not only still matter, but are central tenets of the work that we do.” – Graduate Fellow 2009-10, Missouri State University
5. What do you find to be the most valuable part of belonging to this network?
“In addition to the alumni themselves, the Foundation has created a network of people who have had great and storied careers in and out of government and academia. These program Advisers, Board members and guest speakers not only can tell witty stories about Secretary Rumsfeld’s career and candid moments, but they also relate how the core principles of the late Secretary played a part in their careers and they have shared real world experiences that give understanding and context to the big issues facing our country.” – Graduate Fellow 2009-10, Missouri State University
“The relationships. I've met wonderful people who are lifelong friends and colleagues. I have been enriched by conversations and interactions. It is inspiring to have accomplished leaders from across government and society speak to you and encourage you to serve your country. It's encouraging to know there are other like-minded people out there trying to make our country and world a better place.” – Graduate Fellow 2012-14, University of Chicago
“The network serves different purposes at different career stages. When I was just starting out, it was helpful to meet people working in government and learn from their experiences and how they got their career starts. Now that I’m in a mid-career stage, I love getting to see the different moves people are making and being able to draw from the expertise they’ve all been developing. I’m just waiting for the time when some of my amazing peers in the network will be able to hire me to serve under them in an administration some day!” – Graduate Fellow 2015-16, The University of Texas at Austin
6. When you think about the future of the Graduate Fellowship Network and the rising leaders that are a part of it, what do you envision?
“This country is in dire need of decent men and women of character who are willing to serve the country in whatever capacity to help it through the rough waters of the near and distant future. The country has thrived because we had leaders who rose to the occasion and met the challenges of their age. I see this Fellowship being one contribution to helping to cultivate those leaders who will rise to meet the challenges we face and restore the public faith in the promise of America.” – Graduate Fellow 2012-14, University of Chicago
“This can be a challenging question. In many ways, the future of the network will be what the alumni make of it. The Advisers and Foundation staff can coordinate and facilitate, but they cannot force participation or motivation. Fortunately, the talented Foundation team has created great forums and opportunity for alumni and current Fellow involvement. This network has the opportunity to become a forum for like-minded individuals who inject that sense of service, commitment to free systems and leadership into many different levels of our society. I think that would be the greatest contribution we could make, to fulfil that mission that first inspired Secretary Rumsfeld to establish this program 15 years ago.” – Graduate Fellow 2009-10, Missouri State University
“The future I envision for the Graduate Fellowship Network is one in which the featured speakers — the people who served honorably and made major history-shaping decisions — are drawn not from the external network of Secretary Rumsfeld and the people he served with but, instead from the alumni of the program itself.” – Graduate Fellow 2015-16, The University of Texas at Austin
The Graduate Fellowship Program provides financial assistance to exceptional graduate-level scholars selected for their demonstrated leadership and moral character who aspire to careers in public service. The Fellowship aims to encourage these rising leaders in their dedication to serving our nation and provides year-round programming designed to connect the members of its talented alumni network and support them in their professional journeys. Learn more about the program here.