About Dole Fellows & Fellowships
Each Fall and Spring semesters, Dole Fellowships are granted to one or two individuals who have hands-on experience and enthusiasm for public service. Selection of Fellows is based on their energy, originality and potential to invigorate student interest in politics. Each Fellow leads a public, 6-8 week, not-for-credit study group on a political topic based on his/her expertise. Students and community members have many opportunities to interact with these experts and their guests in a group and or one-on-one basis.
Dole Fellowship application process
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Dole Fellow Alumni
2009 Fall Semester Dole Fellows
MIKE MCKENNA
President of MWR strategies
Study Group: "We’ve Got Issues”
KAY BARNES
Former Mayor of Kansas City, MO
Study Group: “You Be the Mayor” with former Mayor
2009 Spring Semester Dole Fellow
SCOTT BURNETT
Former Director
of the Presidential Speakers Bureau
during the Carter administration (1977 to 1981).
Study Group: “Obama’s First 100 Days”
2009 Spring DOLE VISITING FELLOW - April
MICHAEL GLASSNER
Senior adviser to Sen. Bob Dole ('85 - 2000);
Director of vice presidential operations for the 2008 McCain/Palin campaign.
2008 Fall Semester Dole Fellows
RAY STROTHER
Legendary Democratic political consultant.
About Ray Strother (pdf)
Study Group: "Political Communications Strategies"
IN THE NEWS
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JOE GAYLORD
Nationally-recognized GOP strategist with
special expertise in Congressional races.
About Joe Gaylord
Study Group: "How to develop and run
a successful, winning campaign"
2008 Spring Semester Dole Fellow
Jennifer Schmidt
Former U.S.Senate staffer for Sen. Bob Dole; counsel to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Senate Judiciary Committee; KU Law School alum.
Study Group: "Gender, Race and Religion in Politics" Press Release | LJWorld News Article
2007 Fall Semester Dole Fellows
Jerry Austin
Veteran Democratic political consultant;
president of Ohio-based political consulting and marketing firm, Gerald J. Austin and Associates Inc.
Study Group: "Presidential Politics from the Inside"
press release
Jennifer Schmidt
Former U.S.Senate staffer for Sen. Bob Dole; counsel to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and the Senate Judiciary Committee; KU Law School alum.
Study Group: “Women in Politics: Career Stories”
press release
2007 Spring Semester Dole Fellows
Gov. Bob Holden
- Former Missouri governor (D)
Study Group: “You Be the Governor: Making Decisions in the Fast Lane — Policy vs. Politics”
Scott Morris
- Director of FEMA’s Florida Long-Term Recovery Office
Study Group: “The Politics of Disasters” - examine the policy process of disastrous events such as Hurricane Katrina.
2006 Fall DOLE VISITING FELLOW - Oct. '06
JIM KING
Veteran Democratic White House advisor
from Kennedy to Clinton
2006 Fall Semester Dole Fellows
Scott Richardson
- Former U.S. Senate staff member, legal counsel to Senator Bob Dole
Study Group: “Bob Dole: The Senate Years”
Ed Quick
- 25-year U.S. Senate staff member for Sen. Tom Eagleton (D-MO), Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark) and Senate committees.
Study Group: “The Culture of Congress,” examining the different influences — interest groups, issues, constituencies and elected and appointed officials — that affect Capitol Hill.
2006 Spring Semester Dole Fellows
John Toohey
- Political operative, former senior aide to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry
Study Group: New Media - political communication via blogs, news as entertainment, entertainment as news and celebrity politicians.
Alan Cobb
- Republican grassroots activist, the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights
Study Group: Citizen Involvement - actions bypassing elected representatives.
2005 Fall Semester Dole Fellows
Cong. Karen McCarthy
- Former U.S. Congresswoman (D-MO)
Paul Curcio
- National political media consultant
2005 DOLE VISITING FELLOW - March '05
Ed Rollins
Reagan White House Political Director
Press Release |
2005 Spring Semester Inaugural Dole Fellows
Steven Jacques
- Nationally recognized Democratic political operative
Adam Taff
- 2004 Kansas Republican Congressional nominee
Dole Fellowship Application & Process
The Dole Institute of Politics Fellowship program was implemented in the Spring of 2005. It is designed to bring political practitioners together with students to create a greater appreciation for and understanding of our political system.
Each semester, the Dole Institute names two Fellows, usually one Republican and one Democrat. (Note: We also actively encourage journalists to apply for our fellowships.) Each Fellow has three principal duties:
1. To lead a study group on a tightly focused topic on politics, governance, the media, etc., designed with the Dole Institute staff.
2. To participate in student activities and to be available to provide individual or small group meetings as requested.
3. To be actively involved in the activities of the Dole Institute for the semester.
Fellows are expected to have extensive experience, most often on the national or international level. They may be or have been elected political leaders, government officials, foreign leaders, campaign operatives or consultants, policy makers or political journalists. If you have been a key participant in the process you have the qualifications we seek.
Each Fellow leads a study group on a focused topic for 7-8 weeks, same time/day each week. A study group is a not for credit, no outside reading, no test, opportunity to learn from political practitioners. Normally, the fellow will bring in guests to speak to their expertise for most sessions. We have three goals in mind: have a focused, informative and appealing topic; give the participants an opportunity to hear from a variety of expert guests; and provide a student engagement component that will create practical experience for students in your topic area. This component could be creating the outline of a campaign plan, creating an advertisement, crafting a policy exercise, or any other suggestion that allows the students to put what they have learned into practice. This exercise requires only an hour or two of preparation outside the study group sessions.
Our Fellows and their guests truly enjoy their experiences; we pay all the expenses of the Fellows’ guests and feature some of the guests in evening feature programs.
We offer two forms of fellowships: with the full immersion approach, the Fellow resides in Lawrence for the bulk of the semester; we provide housing and pay a stipend. We also have worked out a way to provide fellowships to busy individuals who fly out to do the groups and office hours weekly with a stipend that's reduced to help us cover the additional expenses. This would only require roughly two days a week for the 7 weeks plus three other trips in the semester to promote your group. Fellows can fly in the day of their group and fly out the next day. We cover all expenses and Fellows are free to do other work from here as necessary.
We normally have 15-30 people at the Study Groups, usually a combination of students and adults. And while they are certainly open to the community they are designed for student interaction with the Fellows and their guests.
To Apply
To apply for a Fellowship we ask for three things:
1. A letter of application outlining why you would be a valuable resource to the students and the Dole Institute; please include a brief mention of key experience and areas of expertise as well as whether you are interested in our full immersion or part-time program. Please include all contact information and your social security number.
2. An updated bio, resume or CV.
3. A study group proposal outlining your topic, possible guests that you consider personal contacts and the student engagement component.
Typically we keep strong applications on file for the future if the Fellowships are filled; we do not return applications materials but we will respond to each application.
For more information on Dole Fellowships, including our Dole Visiting Fellow program (2-3 day commitment) contact the Dole Institute of Politics.
doleinstitute@ku.edu