Ten MPA Students appointed Director’s Fellows, pursuing research projects across the Watson Institute

The Watson Institute has appointed 10 MPA students to its Director’s Fellowship cohort for the 2022-2023 academic year. Following a pilot launch the previous year, the Watson Director’s Fellowship Program connects MPA students to research opportunities alongside faculty across Watson’s Centers and Initiatives. 

This year’s fellowship projects and MPA fellows are listed below. Fellows will work on their projects from October to January and have several opportunities to learn from practitioners in the international and public affairs space. They will also present their work and learnings at a workshop early in the Spring Semester.

Watson Director’s Fellowship Projects, 2022-2023

Afghan Evacuee Experience Research and Needs Assessment
Project Sponsor: Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, in partnership with the Refugee Dream Center (RDC)
Faculty Lead: Adam Levine, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Health Services, Policy & Practice
Project Supervisor: Alexandria Nylen
Director’s Fellow: Nilab Ibrahimy

Business Responses to Climate Ambitions
Project Sponsor: Climate Solutions Lab
Faculty Leads: Jeff Colgan, Richard Holbrooke Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs; and Alexander Gard-Murray, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Director’s Fellow: Anza Hayat

Carbon Intensity and Local Growth Models
Project Sponsor: Rhodes Center for International Economics & Finance
Faculty Leads: Mark Blyth, The William R. Rhodes ’57 Professor of International Economics, Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs; and Dan Driscoll, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Director’s Fellow: Sarah Perumattam

Chinese Foreign Policy through the Lens of Key Bilateral Relationships
Project Sponsor: China Initiative
Faculty Lead: Lyle Goldstein, Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs
Director’s Fellow: Hengqi Li

Development and Demography: Gender, Family, and a Generation of Change in Africa
Project Sponsor: Africa Initiative
Faculty Lead: Daniel Jordan Smith, Charles C. Tillinghast, Jr. ’32 Professor of International Studies, Professor of Anthropology
Director’s Fellow: Tzion Jones 

The Financialization of Social Policy
Project Sponsor: Stone Inequality Initiative
Faculty Leads: Margaret Weir, Wilson Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science; and James A. Morone, John Hazen White Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Political Science and Urban Studies
Director’s Fellow: Kyler Groner

In the Wake of George Floyd: Responses to Anti-Black Racism in Rhode Island
Project Sponsor: Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Faculty Lead: Patsy Lewis, Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs
Director’s Fellow: Starrchild Jackson 

Reproductive Rights and Mobilization in the MENA Region
Project Sponsor: Center for Middle East Studies
Faculty Lead: Nadje Al-Ali, Robert Family Professor of International Studies, Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies
Director’s Fellow: Narjes Jafarian

U.S. Security Assistance Report Series
Project Sponsor: Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies
Faculty Lead: Adam Levine, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Health Services, Policy & Practice
Project Supervisor: Alexandria Nylen
Director’s Fellow: Marzia Giambertoni

Voting Rights and the 2022 Midterm Elections
Project Sponsor: Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy
Faculty Lead: Wendy J. Schiller, Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science, Professor of Political Science
Project Supervisor: Othniel Harris
Director’s Fellow: Jason Barajas