Ursinus Selects First Cohort of Melrose Fellows
The students will engage in global civic engagement opportunities.
The 18 fellows are the first for the Melrose Center for Global Civic Engagement, which was established by Ursinus in July 2016 to develop leadership skills through increased opportunities for experiential learning, community service and global engagement that will empower students to work locally, nationally and globally to build sustainable solutions to pressing problems.
The Melrose Center is named in honor of the late U.S. Ambassador Joseph H. Melrose, Jr., a 1966 Ursinus graduate who returned to his alma mater in 2002 to serve as professor of politics and international relations and the college’s ambassador-in-residence.
The fellows representing the Ursinus Class of 2019 are: Shelby Carmichael; Katarina Gereda; Megan Koeller; Kaitlyn Lawrence; Reed Meakim; Susana Zelaya Rivera; Charlotte Rohrer; Greg Stryker; Rose Tailassane; and Chelsey Thomas.
The fellows representing the Ursinus Class of 2020 are: Garrett Bullock; Jake Detweiler; Athena Gainey; Sophia King; Jordan Orange; Wilbert Pichardo; Min Son; and Gabe Tenaglia.
“This first cohort of Melrose Fellows represents the very best of our future global leaders, and they will proudly represent and continue Ambassador Melrose’s legacy by committing to global community engagement,” says Rebecca Evans, an associate professor of politics at Ursinus and a founding faculty member for the Melrose Center.
The first short-term service learning and study abroad trip the student will take will be to Nicaragua in May.
The students will also take courses emphasizing social and global issues; design and implement civic engagement projects to enhance community-based organizations; and travel abroad to engage in service learning initiatives.
The Melrose Center will also expand opportunities for students involved in the Ursinus National Model United Nations, the Peace Corps Prep Program, and the Bonner Leader Program.
While teaching at Ursinus, Melrose served as president of the board at the National Model United Nations and acting U.S. Representative for management and reform at the United States Mission to the United Nations. He gained the nickname “Mr. Fixit” from a news reporter for his frequent work on behalf of the State Department in dealing with crises, including the bombing of US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Beirut, Lebanon as well as the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Upon the announcement of the new Melrose Center, Joseph Melrose’s son, Andrew Melrose, president of Melrose Associates, LLC., said, “The center will enable my father’s work at Ursinus to continue. The achievements he was most proud of were not the awards or decorations he earned, or even the accomplishments of his students, but the human beings they became.” —By Ed Moorhouse