Departmental Fellowships and Prizes
The Government Department annually awards three undergraduate prizes and two fellowships to support student research projects or internships. The Mavrinac Prize is given to seniors and is normally announced at the department’s reception for graduating seniors and their parents on Commencement Weekend. The Dubord Award is given to seniors, the Peterson Award is given to juniors, and the Ling and Mackenzie fellowships may be awarded to a junior or a sophomore. All are normally announced at the spring Goldfarb Dinner.
Applications for the Ling and Mackenzie Fellowships must be submitted through the DavisConnects webpage. Students will submit a general application (please visit the DavisConnects student funding page to prep all essay questions and application materials) and then answer the following prompt:
Please describe how this opportunity commits to a larger, coherent course of study or direction in personal and professional development as a government major.
The Mavrinac Prize is given annually to honor the best original research project submitted by a student. Endowed by the generosity of the Mavrinac family, the prize commemorates the life and career of Professor Albert A. Mavrinac, Dana Professor of Government, emeritus. Professor Mavrinac taught at Colby from 1958 until 1992 and was the first chair of the Government Department.
- 2024: Fiona Nash
- 2023: Claudia Miner
- 2022: Ravi S. Joshi-Wander
- 2021: Samantha Kane Jimenez
- 2020: Ethan vanderWilden
- 2019: Carlo Macomber & Ellie Krossa
- 2018: Nellie Lavalle
- 2017: Madeleine Neider
- 2016: Cameron D. Coval
- 2015: Shelby F. O’Neill, Samuel W. Parker, and Molly E. Robertson
- 2014: Joshua J. Rothenberg
- 2013: Lauren Fisher
- 2012: Laura Maloney
- 2011: Chris Gorud
- 2010: Clifford Vickery
- 2009: Daniel O’Sullivan
- 2008: Hande Yalnizoglu
- 2007: Alec N. Worsnop
- 2006: Jessica C. Varnum
- 2005: Michael W. Rutherford
- 2004: Laura H. Mistretta
- 2003: Stephanie L. Hicks
- 2002: Kimberly R. Victor
- 2001: Theresa L. Wagner
- 2000: Shane Hoffman
- 1999: William T. Barndt
- 1999: Lyndall E. Schuster
- 1998: Elizabeth J. Ivry
- 1997: Cary T. Gibson
- 1996: Matthew M. McGinness
- 1995: Brett M. Santoli
- 1994: Erik L. Belenky
- 1993: William L. Charron
- 1993: Brian O’Halloran
- 1992: Caroline Morris
Established in 1966 by Professor Albert A. Mavrinac, the Dubord Prize is given annually “in recognition of outstanding work in political science” to the senior with the highest academic standing in the Government Department. Supported by the law firm of Marden, Dubord, Bernier, and Stevens, the award is presented in memory of the Honorable F. Harold Dubord, a member of the Class of 1914 and justice of the Supreme Court of Maine.
- 2024: Helena Kopans-Johnson
- 2023: Eliza Batchelder
- 2022: Lylah T. Paine
- 2021: Samantha J. Kane Jimenez
- 2020: Thomas F. Shea and Anran Zhang
- 2019: Carlo Macomber and Madeline Taylor
- 2018: William Levesque
- 2017: Madeleine Neider
- 2016: Jane W. Wiesenberg
- 2015: Lucas L. Fortler
- 2014: Joshua M. Balk and Russell B. Wilson
- 2013: Lauren Fisher
- 2012: Laura Maloney
- 2011: Benjamin G. Ogden
- 2010: Cliff Vickery
- 2009: Andrew M. Cook
- 2008: Kyle S. Smith
- 2007: Ivica Petrikova
- 2006: Jessica C. Varnum
- 2005: D. Jarvis Brown
- 2004: Laura H. Mistretta
- 2003: Sarah E. Barclay and Brooke P. McNally
- 2002: Kimberly R. Victor
- 2001: Milan Babik
- 2000: Jonathan B. Rickert
- 1999: Melissa J. Maguire
- 1998: Jonathan R. Bolton
- 1997: Susanna C. Montezemolo and Everett M. Fairbrother II
- 1996: Nicole Dannenberg and John J. Ryan
The Laurie Peterson Memorial Award in Government is awarded annually to a junior government major who, “through academic achievement and evidence of leadership and character, has made an outstanding contribution to the department.” Laurie Peterson died in 1972 during her junior year at Colby, and in 1973 her family established this memorial award in her name.
- 2024: Margo Kenyon
- 2023: Aaron Mills
- 2022: Claudia Miner
- 2021: Serena Desai
- 2020: Eleanor S. Harlan
- 2019: Ian Baum
- 2018: Carlo Macomber and Madeline Taylor
- 2017: Daliah Al-Shakshir and Jeremy Vale
- 2016: Laura A. Jensen and Madeleine F. Neider
- 2015: Jane W. Wiesenberg
- 2014: Lucas L. Fortler and Shelby O’Neill
- 2013: Joshua M. Balk and Russell B. Wilson
- 2012: Claire E. Dunn and Abbott G. Matthews
- 2011: Laura J. Maloney
- 2010: Benjamin G. Ogden
- 2009: Fiona Sheridan-McIver
- 2008: Clifford D. Vickrey
- 2007: Kyle S. Smith
- 2006: Ivica Petrikova
- 2006: Alec N. Worsnop
- 2005: Jessica C. Varnum
- 2004: Christopher Surprenant
- 2003: Laura H. Mistretta
- 2002: Sarah E. Barclay
- 2002: Brooke P. McNally
- 2001: Theresa L. Wagner
- 2000: Mark Paustenbach
- 1999: Jonathan B. Rickert
- 1998: Melissa J. Maguire
- 1997: Jonathan R. Bolton
- 1996: Susanna C. Montezemolo
- 1995: Nicole Dannenberg
- 1994: Brian M. Rayback
- 1993: Erik L. Belenky
- 1992: Karl A. Oliver
- 1991: Andrew Grossman
- 1991: David C. Leavy
In the spring of 2002, the parents and friends of Ben Ling ’98 established a fellowship to honor Ben’s memory. Awarded annually, the Ling Fellowship supports a Colby government major who undertakes either an internship or a significant research project.
While he was at Colby, Ben majored in government and was involved in a number of internships and major research projects. A summa cum laude graduate of Colby, Ben went to Washington in order to pursue a career working on agricultural and ranching issues. He died of cancer in 2001.
Purpose
To encourage and support students participating in internships or undertaking major research projects during the summer, the fall semester, or Jan Plan.
Student Eligibility
Any sophomore or junior government major may apply for the Ling Fellowship, which is awarded on a need-blind basis. The Ling Fellowship can run for any period of time from June 1 of the calendar year in which it is awarded, through the end of the following January.
Award
The Ling Fellowship provides up to $2,000 toward expenses incurred during the internship or research project for which it has been awarded.
Program Eligibility
Internships may be either paid or unpaid, full time or significant, part time; the work of the internship must, however, be clearly and significantly related to the student’s academic program or professional and career goals.
Research projects must be clearly connected to a student’s course of study at Colby, e.g., research for an honors thesis or major independent study project.
Application Procedures
Applications can be found on this DavisConnects webpage. Students will submit a general application (please visit the DavisConnects student funding page to prep all essay questions and application materials) and then answer the following question:
Please describe how this opportunity commits to a larger, coherent course of study or direction in personal and professional development as a government major.
Any questions about the Ling Fellowship should be addressed to Professor Dan Shea, 207-859-5357, [email protected]
Any questions about the general funding application process should contact Scott Lamer, associate director of global experiences at DavisConnects, at [email protected].
Recipients
- 2024: Madeleine Silano
- 2023: Helena Kopans-Johnson
- 2022: Claudia Miner
- 2021: Madeline Wehr
- 2021: Adwoa Nyame
- 2020: Rohnique Davy
- 2019: Anran Zhang
- 2018: Carolyn Jones
- 2017: Katherine Cabrera-Hunt
- 2016: Meredith F. Keenan
- 2015: Dylan K. Ciccarelli and Cameron D. Coval
- 2014: Leah E. Breen
- 2013: Pandit Mami
- 2012: Max B. Kanner and Abbott G. Matthews
- 2011: Madelaine Bergier
- 2010: Megan Booth
- 2009: Emma Hall
- 2008: Christine Gardner
- 2007: Emily Butler
- 2006: Michael Deheeger
- 2005: Jessica C. Varnum
- 2004: Adam Harvey
- 2003: Michael Shea
Established in 2016 by students and friends of Government Professor Cal Mackenzie upon his retirement from Colby, the Mackenzie Fellowship honors his 38 years of teaching in the Government Department. It supports a Colby government major who undertakes an internship in the United States or abroad.
- 2023: Anthony Burnett and William Stevens
- 2022: Tyler Gonsalves, Isaac Lennon, and Connor Powers
- 2021: Avery Marti, Emily Nyman, and Mingwei Zhu
- 2020: Brian Riley
- 2019: Ethan vanderWilden
- 2018: Katherine Gillespie
- 2017: Wesley Zebrowski
Founded in 2020 and decided by a vote of the faculty, this award is given to a senior Government major who has demonstrated excellence in coursework, quality research and writing, curiosity, and tenacity in the pursuit of knowledge.
- 2024: Samuel McKeown
- 2023: Angie Sohn
- 2022: Emily Nyman
- 2021: Eleanor Harlan
- 2020: Joshua Goldberg