Blaine Ravert Selected for Prestigious CSPC Presidential Fellowship
Westminster College is pleased to announce that sophomore Blaine Ravert of Columbia, MO, is the recipient of the prestigious 2021-2022 Presidential Fellowship through the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC).
A Political Science and Philosophy double-major, Ravert is a founding member of the College’s John Quincy Adams Society and its Policy Leadership Development Program. He also served on the Columbia area Helping Our Peers Everywhere Club from 2016 to 2020. Ravert was elected an executive board member in 2019.
“I am honored and proud to be selected, because I know of the extremely high quality of the other applicants,” Ravert said recently after being informed of the fellowship. “I am also very excited to get such a remarkable opportunity so early in my academic career.”
Dr. Tobias T. Gibson, the Dr. John Langton Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, says Ravert exemplifies what a Presidential Fellow should be as a result of his long list of accomplishments. He cites Ravert’s membership in the Westminster Honors Program, his high GPA, and a variety of op-eds Ravert published in local newspapers as a freshman.
Gibson adds, “As his advisor, along with Dr. James McRae, I am confident Blaine will represent the College well and gain a firm understanding of the U.S. presidency and public policy during his fellowship.”
Westminster began participating in the CSPC program in 2020. [pullquote]The College is among only a handful of small liberal arts institutions nationwide — and the only college or university in Missouri — to be included as a participant.[/pullquote]
A premiere outlet for scholarship on the presidency, the CSPC has partnered for more than 50 years with institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy.
Through the highly respectable and historic program, Westminster students such as Ravert are provided with the unique opportunity to engage on the national stage with policy makers and members of the U.S. Congress. His participation will include monthly online meetings and a scheduled trip to Washington, DC, this fall.
Ravert also will be expected to do more in-depth study and complete additional projects.
He explains, “I will be writing a paper that examines how artificial intelligence and the presidents’ commander-in-chief powers have interacted and could continue to interact.”
After he graduates, Ravert says he plans to attend graduate school with a focus on international affairs and policy analysis. Until then, he is content to focus on the year ahead.
“I took a class with Tobias about the presidency last semester, and I wanted to learn more about the topic,” Ravert reflects. “It [the fellowship] really looks like an interesting opportunity.”
For more information on the CPSC’s Presidential Fellowship, please contact Dr. Tobias T. Gibson at [email protected].
