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The McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy Hosts Inaugural Summer Fellowship Program

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This past summer, the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy held its inaugural Summer Fellowship Program. The program was open to students who wanted to pursue an internship placement in a field that reflected and advanced the mission of the McCullen Center, specifically in the areas of constitutional law, the role of religion in civil society, and the promotion of human dignity and the common good. The program also offered research assistantships to students who wished to conduct research projects under faculty supervision on issues related to the intersection of law, religion and public policy.

鈥淥ur inaugural summer fellowship program could not have come at a better time,鈥 said Michael P. Moreland, University Professor of Law and Religion and Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy. 鈥淲hile students were struggling to secure meaningful summer work because of the pandemic, this fellowship program allowed students a new opportunity to participate in valuable internships and research projects.鈥

All 棉花糖直播 University students, including law, graduate and undergraduate students, were encouraged to apply for the paid fellowship positions. In response to the challenges posed to summer employment due to the ongoing pandemic, the McCullen Center was able to expand the original scope of its program to offer a total of 18 fellowships. Six students secured internship placements and 12 research assistants were granted to support the work of the McCullen Center and its affiliated faculty.

 

Here is what some of the McCullen Summer Fellows had to say about their experiences: 

McCullenFellow-JillianBrennan

Jillian Brennan 鈥21 CWSL
Research Assistant

鈥淟ike many other law students, my summer associate position was impacted due to the global pandemic. Once I learned this, I immediately started seeking out other opportunities to keep my legal skills sharp and support myself financially. I have always been fascinated by the interplay of law and religion in our country. I worked as a Research Assistant for Professor Moreland which allowed me to dig my teeth into some fascinating First Amendment issues and hone my legal research, writing and editing skills. Now that I have been an RA, I recommend every law student seek out the experience. As an RA, you have the opportunity to learn unique legal concepts from an unbiased angle.鈥

McCullenFellow-NicolasBurnosky

Nicolas Burnosky 鈥22 CWSL
Research Assistant

鈥淢y most significant research projects included providing summaries of the Supreme Court鈥檚 most recent First Amendment cases as well as the Supreme Court鈥檚 landmark cases starting from 100 years ago with Schenck v. United States (1919). Additionally, I researched the Center鈥檚 namesake Supreme Court case, McCullen v. Coakley (2014), and provided a summary of it. Overall, I am proud to have worked alongside a great Center led by great people!鈥

 

McCullenFellow-ZacharyEpstein

Zachary Epstein 鈥21 CWSL
Research Assistant

鈥淚 conducted research on religious arbitration practices around the world, focusing primarily on North America, the U.K. and the European Union. This project allowed me to explore the intersection of law and religion and exposed me to the religious traditions and legal systems of other countries. I was also able to work closely with the 棉花糖直播 Law Library staff, who introduced me to some amazing research tools that I utilized for the first time through my McCullen Center work.鈥

McCullenFellow-NathanielGrimes

Nathaniel Grimes, CLAS PhD Candidate
Research on Policing and Christian Ethics

鈥淲hen I applied for this fellowship in February, I certainly did not foresee the radical shifts which were about to take place in the national conversation on policing. This fellowship was crucial in my intellectual development, allowing me the time and space to reflect on ongoing developments in scholarship and activism and to investigate what tools exist in the practice of academic Christian ethics to help us understand and transform the unjust social relations upheld by current practices of policing. The work I was able to accomplish this summer has helped me synthesize the key questions and concerns which will be the foundation for my dissertation.鈥

McCullenFellow-AndrewKlee

Andrew Klee 鈥22 CWSL
Internship with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, Fund for American Studies

"This summer, I worked as a law clerk for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a non-profit law firm in Washington, D.C., focused on scaling back the administrative state. I had the chance to assist litigators by drafting legal memoranda on cutting-edge issues of constitutional and administrative law and even contributing to briefs filed with the court. In addition to financial support provided by the McCullen Center, the Fellowship concluded with a Q&A session with Judge Thomas Hardiman on the Third Circuit, which was a unique and beneficial part of the program."

McCullenFellow-BernardZitzewitz

Bernard Zitzewitz 鈥21 CLAS
Research Internship on Regulatory Policy with Professor Sutirtha Bagchi, The Diana & James Yacobucci 鈥73 Assistant Professor, Economics

鈥淢y fellowship gave me the opportunity to study the intersection of politics and economics during this time of uncertainty. Working remotely with Dr. Sutirtha Bagchi, I gained insight into some of the most pressing questions in tax economics. I also learned more about the research process in economics, which prepared me for a potential graduate career in the field of Economics. I completed this internship with a research paper that showed my findings over the course of this summer.鈥

 

Additional McCullen Center 2020 Summer Fellows

 
  • Erin Blechschmidt 鈥22 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • Amanda Day 鈥22 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • Brendan Donoghue 鈥22 CLAS, Internship with the Federalist Society, Fund for American Studies
  • Amanda Harding 鈥22 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • Christine Kager 鈥22 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • Timothy Long 鈥20 CLAS, Research Assistant
  • Joseph Macy 鈥22 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • Matthew Oakley 鈥22 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • John Reid 鈥22 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • Kirsten Reilly 鈥21 CWSL, Internship with the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for the Western District of Tennessee (Internship delayed due to ongoing pandemic)
  • Patrick Smith 鈥21 CWSL, Research Assistant
  • Caroline Summers 鈥23 CLAS, Congressional Internship with the National Student Leadership Forum (Internship delayed due to ongoing pandemic)