University of Arkansas Student Chosen as James Madison Fellow

John Baltz

Elizabeth Harrison.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas senior Elizabeth Harrison has been awarded a James Madison Graduate Fellowship. The James Madison Fellowship is awarded to current or future teachers of the American Constitution at the secondary level. Fellowships are awarded to both current teachers (Senior Fellows) and prospective teachers (Junior Fellows).

Harrison will receive a $24,000 Madison Junior fellowship for her future graduate work. She will also participate in a month-long summer institute held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.  The majority of those selected are Senior Fellows, and the James Madison Fellowship Foundation strives to choose one per state.  Junior Fellows are a smaller cohort with fewer than 10 being selected each year.

Harrison is a history and political science major from Fayetteville. She will begin the Master of Arts in Teaching Program in secondary education upon graduation.

“Elizabeth Harrison will be an excellent representative of the James Madison Fellowship Foundation just as she has been for the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the University of Arkansas,” said Todd Shields, dean of Fulbright College. “She is the fourth history major from our college to receive this significant opportunity, and she will join that illustrious group in pursuing an M.A.T. and teaching at the secondary education level in Arkansas. Her students will certainly have an accomplished and dedicated teacher.”

“The Madison Fellowship’s emphasis on the history and principles of the U.S. Constitution is of great value to a prospective history teacher,” said Michael Miller, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. “Elizabeth will begin her teaching career with a vast knowledge of the guiding document of our nation that she will be able to pass on to numerous students over the years. We congratulate her on receiving this prestigious award, and we look forward to welcoming her into the College of Education and Health Professions for her graduate work.”

“I am so thrilled to have been given the opportunity through this fellowship to expand my academic and professional horizons,” said Harrison. “Through this award, I will take monumental steps toward achieving my goal of ensuring that a new generation of Americans will be inspired and connected through our nation’s history. I believe that a thorough knowledge and understanding of American government and history has the ability to unite us as citizens on a profound level. And, as a future teacher of these colloquiums, I will be proud to call myself a facilitator of this union.”

On campus, Harrison has served as public relations chair of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, an ASG senator, and is a member of Order of Omega and Mortar Board honors societies. Last semester, while enrolled in CIED 4131, a practicum for students intending to enter the M.A.T. program, she completed her observation hours at Fayetteville High School and Ramay Junior High School.

In 1986, Congress established the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation to improve the teaching of the United States Constitution in secondary schools. The $24,000 fellowship is prorated over the period of study, and cannot exceed $12,000 per year of academic study. Upon completion of graduate study, Madison Fellows are obligated to teach for one full year for each academic year of aid received, preferably in the state in which the recipient was awarded the fellowship.

Harrison is the eighth University of Arkansas student to be awarded a James Madison Fellowship. Recent recipients include Scott Shackelford (2015), Annie Williams (2014), and Alexander McKnight (2009).

For more information about the James Madison Fellowship and other nationally competitive scholarship opportunities, please contact the office of nationally competitive awards at awards@uark.edu  or 479-575-2716.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.