The Michael Donnelly CTEC Research Fellowship
About the Fellowship
The Michael Donnelly Fellowship, named in honor of our late friend and colleague, carries forward his legacy by supporting two underrepresented MIIS students each year with demonstrated financial need through a funded research position.
Each semester, CTEC seeks a highly motivated, qualified, and enthusiastic Middlebury Institute of International Studies graduate candidate for the Michael Donnelly CTEC Research Fellowship. In contrast to CTEC research assistant positions, this fellow is not a CTEC employee, and he/she/they will have significant autonomy. With extensive help from CTEC staff and external experts, the fellow will complete substantial research within CTEC’s major research areas either in conjunction with an established project or of their own design. The fellow will receive mentorship in research design, execution, and writing from CTEC staff. Final reports or papers developed by Michael Donnelly Fellows will be considered either for publishing through CTEC or as part of a larger project that will be published elsewhere. While publication of fellows’ research cannot be guaranteed, this fellowship is designed to support and facilitate the completion of publication-ready research.
The fellow will also have the opportunity to work on recurring CTEC initiatives, such as public outreach through social media and contributions to future short-form publications like newsletters.
A new fellow is selected each semester. The fellowship comes with a one-time $6,000 stipend paid in the middle of the semester. Fellows will commit to work an average of 15 hours per week on their research.
Qualifications:
- Underrepresented student with demonstrated financial need.
- Interest in extremism and terrorism.
- Strong independent worker with a desire to make a significant contribution to an ongoing research project or to design and implement a project from scratch.
- Ability to complete in-depth foreign-language research is desirable.
- Experience with mixed-methods analysis (e.g. data analysis) is a plus.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Spring 2025
Stian Lothe is a graduate student at the Middlebury Institute from Aga, Norway. Pursuing a Master of Arts in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies, he is particularly interested in the intersection of technology and national security. While at the Institute, Stian has worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at CTEC, where he conducted independent research on 3D printing technology and school safety. As a Kathryn Davis Conflict Transformation Fellow, he researched the impact of declining local news and social media on eroding trust in local American government. As the Spring 2025 Michael Donnelly Fellow, Stian will be exploring trends in how extremist groups leverage emerging technologies to promote their tactics and beliefs.
Prior to joining the Institute, Stian worked as a communications executive, served as a political advisor to the Deputy Mayor of Oslo, and has been a regular opinion writer for VG, Norway’s most widely read newspaper. Stian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Russian from Middlebury College.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Fall 2024
Diego Olivieri is a Marine Corps veteran from Annandale, Virginia. He is interested in studying extremism in the military and understanding more about US service members and veterans who become members of extremist groups. Diego completed his BA at Wesleyan University where he majored in Latin American Studies and Education Studies with a minor in Human Rights Advocacy. He is enrolled in his first semester in the International Policy and Development program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Spring 2024
Al Smith is a first year Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies candidate from New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to his time at Middlebury Institute he earned his Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University where he majored in International Security and Conflict Resolution. Before starting undergrad Al spent almost two decades stationed in various locations as a United States Marine. He speaks English and Spanish and is pursuing the Financial Crime Management specialization. During the Spring 2024 semester Al will be exploring how various criminal enterprises like drug trafficking, intellectual property theft, and various scams are used to fund terrorist operations.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Fall 2023
Muskan Agrawal, from New Delhi, India, has a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Soka University of America. She has worked as a political analyst and campaign manager with Polstrat and the Indian Political Action Committee and is fluent in Hindi, English, and Spanish. During her fellowship, she researched soft domestic terrorism and compared hate speech and other repressive tactics across Chile, Japan, India and the US. To read her report, click here.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Spring 2023
Kojin Glick is a Master’s candidate in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. His interests align traditional security studies with data analytics with a particular focus on emerging technologies, namely the use of new media technologies by threat actors. He is also pursuing a specialization in financial studies to augment his technical approach to security studies. Before coming to MIIS and joining the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC), Kojin worked in privacy tech leading day to day operations, and continues to maintain a small web development firm, called Moonstripe Design. Kojin graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, another bachelor’s degree in Media Studies, and a professional certificate in full-stack web development.
During the Spring semester at MIIS, Kojin will be researching new methods of visualizing relationships using the Telegram API to identify potential threat actors in various extremist spaces.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Fall 2022
Jacob Koren graduated from MIIS in 2023 with a Master of Arts degree (STEM-designated) in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. During his time as a fellow, he investigated neo-Fascist extremism with a focus on accelerationist movements within the context of the Russia-Ukraine war. Jake researched Far-Right extremist organizations on both sides of the conflict, such as the Azov Regiment (formerly Azov Battalion), the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the Wagner Group, Rusich, and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), and how these groups are playing critical roles in promulgating accelerationist ideology. Additionally, he discussed the global security implications and appropriate government responses to countering such groups.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Spring 2022
Astrid Askenberger is a Swedish Master´s candidate in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at Middlebury Institute of International Studies. She studied feminism, gender, and ethnic studies at UC Santa Barbara and has a bachelor´s degree in human rights from Lund University. During her bachelor´s, Astrid wrote theses on sexual violence in peacekeeping missions and Incel violence. She has also worked with a leadership development company for the last five years. In the last half-year, Astrid has worked on a project for the competition Invent2Prevent, in which her group is now one of three finalists.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Fall 2021
Myles graduated from MIIS in 2022 with a degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. During his studies at Middlebury, he worked at CTEC, where he received the Michael Donnelly Fellowship and wrote an article on the New World Order Conspiracy Theory. He also supported numerous projects at CTEC, which included researching extremist groups, conducting open-source intelligence, and assisting with qualitative datasets.
CTEC Michael Donnelly Fellow, Spring 2021
Skyler Stokes, MANPTS ’22, will be joining us as CTEC’s first Michael Donnelly Research Fellow. She has worked previously at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Stimson Center, and the office of then-Senator Kamala Harris, and currently works as an intern at NSI. She is excited for the opportunity to conduct independent research on a topic of her own choice, an opportunity she noted was rare for someone at this stage in their career
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