Reagan Institute Launches New Program to Help Early Career Scholars Land on the Tenure Track

Dartmouth, George Washington, Ohio State, UW–Madison and Vanderbilt join as founding partners.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute (Reagan Institute) today launched the Reagan Institute Society of Fellows, a new multi-year fellowship that provides a new pathway to the tenure track for early career scholars. Five universities have joined as founding partners, including Dartmouth, George Washington University, The Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Vanderbilt University. Two additional partners will be announced throughout the year.

The Society is now accepting applications for its inaugural cohort of fellows, with appointments beginning on September 1, 2027. Applications are due January 15, 2027.

"The academy loses too many of its most promising minds in the years immediately following the Ph.D. Not for lack of talent or ambition, but because the time and resources needed to complete serious scholarship are increasingly difficult to secure," said Anthony Eames, the Jill E. Kent Chair in History, Civics, and Statecraft at the Reagan Institute. "This program offers a well-funded, structured path from dissertation to faculty appointment."

The Society gives scholars time and support to finish their first major work. Eligible scholars are focused on U.S. political history, America in the world, civic thought, science and technology studies, and law and economics. Applicants from any accredited doctoral program are eligible. Fellows are selected by a committee of faculty representatives from each partner university, based on scholarly merit and a commitment to research that enriches intellectual diversity in their field.

"Great universities are built on the belief that the pursuit of knowledge advances when talented people are provided the intellectual freedom and the support to pursue difficult questions wherever the evidence leads," said Eric M. Wilcots, Interim Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. "This is part of our DNA at UW–Madison, and it's a core value at each of the Society's founding institutions. We are helping create the conditions for early-career scholars to make important contributions that strengthen both higher education and our democracy, and we are proud of the relationship we have built with the Ronald Reagan Institute to create this opportunity."

The program includes two fellowship tracks:

• Five-Year Fellowship Appointment: Fellows are recent Ph.D.s who will spend two years in residence at the Reagan Institute in Washington, D.C., with a stipend and research funds to complete a first book or major project. They build relationships across the capital's research and policy community. Fellows then serve a three-year faculty appointment at a partner university, taking part in the life of their host department.
   
• Three-Year Graduate Fellowship Appointment: Graduate Fellows are doctoral candidates in their final year who spend one year in residence at the Reagan Institute completing their dissertation, followed by a two-year postdoctoral appointment at a partner university.

"At Dartmouth, faculty in humanities and social science fields have always collaborated across disciplines and points of view," said Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock. "I'm pleased our Political Economy Project will partner with the Ronald Reagan Institute in this effort to train the next generation of scholars who will strengthen our academic communities."

The Society will also appoint Senior Fellows from partner institutions who will serve as mentors to early Fellows and Graduate Fellows. The Society will further support graduate students with opportunities for research grants throughout their early career.

"President Reagan believed America's dynamism depended on the vigorous competition of ideas," said Roger Zakheim, Washington Director of the Reagan Institute. "The Society of Fellows invests in this competition by providing opportunities for a rising generation of scholars to refine their ideas within and beyond the university. We are proud to partner with five institutions that share our conviction that the pursuit of intellectual pluralism makes universities better for scholars and students alike."

Fellows receive an $80,000 annual salary during their two-year Washington residency and a $90,000 minimum annual salary during the three-year university appointment. Graduate Fellows receive $60,000 annual salary during their one-year Washington residency and a salary and benefits package commensurate with the rate offered to postdoctoral fellows at the host institution during their two-year university appointment.

"Through pathbreaking research and transformational education, faculty at American institutions of higher education contribute to the strength and vibrancy of a free and democratic society," said Daniel Diermeier, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, a participant in the Three-Year Graduate Fellowship Appointment Track. "Providing new pathways for early career scholars as they embark on their careers as teachers and researchers is an endeavor of immense importance. Vanderbilt is proud to be a founding partner of the Reagan Institute Society of Fellows, and I look forward to the many positive contributions these fellows will make to the academic communities they serve."

Interested scholars can learn more about the fellow application here and the graduate fellow application here.

About the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
 The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute (RRPFI) is the sole nonprofit organization created by President Reagan charged with advancing his legacy and principles – individual liberty, economic opportunity, freedom and democracy, peace through strength, and national pride.

A globally recognized nonpartisan organization based in Simi Valley, CA, with a leading policy institute in Washington, DC, RRPFI delivers impactful public affairs programming, policy convenings and projects of national and international significance, scholarly initiatives, and distinctive educational programs shaping the perspectives of middle, high school, and college students.

In addition, RRPFI sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the largest and most visited presidential library. A leading cultural institution, RRPFI houses a remarkable 125,000 square foot museum with unique historical pieces that tells the story of Ronald Reagan's life, presidency, and enduring impact, and hosts world-class special exhibitions.

CONTACT: Jenna Talbot; [email protected]

SOURCE The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute