Foreign Policy Expert Adds Council on Foreign Relations Fellowship to List of Accolades

After receiving a fellowship last year from the East Asia Institute (EAI), Government and Politics Associate Professor David W. Kearn, Ph.D., will serve for the 2016-2017 academic year as a fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Section of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Previously, Kearn held a fellowship with the RAND corporation, among other honors in his career.

Kearn received an International Affairs Fellowship in Nuclear Security from the CFR in the amount of $125,000. The fellowship is supported by the Frank Stanton Foundation and offers university-based scholars hands-on experience in the nuclear security policymaking field. Only two of these fellowships become available each year.

"The International Affairs Fellowship has generously provided scholars with amazing opportunities to serve in policy positions for years," said Kearn. "The Stanton Nuclear Security IAF will allow me to work on important issues related to countering the proliferation Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Department of Defense and gain incredible real world, practical policy-making experience. This will certainly provide me with valuable insights that I can share with my students when I return to St. John's."

During the previous academic year, Kearn received $10,000 from the EAI Fellowship on Peace, Governance, and Development in East Asia. The fellowship funds enabled Kearn to travel to EAI's five partner institutions and present a paper. The EAI fellowship's primary mission is to provide opportunities for East Asia specialists in the area of social sciences to conduct research and interact with scholars and students of the countries they visit.