The student(s) selected for The Texas Lyceum Fellowship will be expected to work with a supervising professor as they synthesize research in the most pressing policy areas affecting the State of Texas. Tasks assigned during the fellowship will include analyzing and interpreting statistical tests and trends from original data, culminating in the production of a high-quality written policy brief. Additionally, the student(s) selected for the fellowship will share their research at a Texas Lyceum meeting, a unique opportunity to represent their school and network with Texas Lyceum members and guests.
The Texas Lyceum Fellow will receive $5,000 to cover expenses associated with their research project and the supervising professor will receive $5,000 for their expense and support.
Applicants must be enrolled in a public administration graduate program and be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
The Texas Lyceum is in partnership with The Bush School at Texas A&M as well as Texas Tech University.
Bush School at Texas A&M applicants click here for the list of qualifications.
Texas Tech University applicants click here for the list of qualifications.
2022 Fellows
Ellyn Anthony
Ellyn Anthony is a Master of Public Administration student at Texas Tech University with an interest in environmental administration, natural resource management, and environmental ethics and justice.
Ellyn received a B.S. in Biology from Texas Woman’s University, Denton, and spent two years teaching high school science in Aubrey, TX. Motivated by this experience, Ellyn earned an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY. Her thesis work and position as a research and extension assistant in the organic agriculture group at Kentucky State focused on nutrient concentrations of subsoil water in an integrative, crop-livestock rotation under organic management. This work may be reviewed here.
Ellyn’s work at Texas Tech continues to motivate her passion for education and administrative leadership founded in science. The Texas Lyceum Fellowship provides her an opportunity to research and re-engage with West Texas communities, including that of her hometown, Plainview.
To see more of Ellyn's work click here.
Rebekah Barfield
Rebekah Barfield is working toward her master's in public service and administration at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. She earned her bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University with a double major in political science and philosophy in 2019. She spent the following two years as an AmeriCorps member in San Jose, teaching elementary students and working as a team leader with City Year. She currently works as an academic mentor to Texas A&M student-athletes.
One of the morning sessions at The Texas Lyceum Public Conference (PubCon) meetings on Friday, April 1 in Frisco featured Bush School of Government and Public Service graduate student Rebekah Barfield. The theme of this year’s PubCon is “Texas in the 2020s: Prospects, Pathways, and Power.” Barfield’s presentation on infrastructure issues relating to the rapid growth of Texas’ exurb communities was very well received and came from work that was supported by a research fellowship from The Texas Lyceum and supervised by Dr. Mallory Compton of the Bush School.
Barfield’s research findings are also available in a research paper titled “Infrastructure Consequences of Exurb Growth in Texas” published in the Mosbacher Institute White Paper Series. In the article, she notes that Texas has the largest exurbanite population in the United States relative to its size and explores some of the infrastructure consequences of such fast growth, particularly in education, transportation, and flood management. Mosbacher Institute White Papers are publications of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School at Texas A&M University.
You can also read more about Barfield’s research about the impact of exurb growth on rural roads and highways and on traffic fatalities in her op-ed piece published on April 1 in The Dallas Morning News.
Aria Alyse-Noire Johnson
The Executive Master of Public Administration program (EMPA) at Texas Southern University is proud to announce its first recipient of the $5,000 Texas Lyceum Fellowship – student Aria Alyse-Noire Johnson.
As a College Readiness Counselor in the Houston Independent School District, Johnson pursues her passion and purpose working in youth development daily. A native Houstonian with five-plus years of experience working with nonprofit organizations, political campaigns and programs, and in education, Johnson has built her career and volunteer efforts around serving her community. Upon graduation, Johnson hopes to advance her career into leadership roles that will allow her to help shape policy consulting in education and government relations in big tech. Through this fellowship, she looks forward to engaging in research that will bring attention to policy issues impacting urban communities.
The Texas Lyceum launched the fellowship program in 2018 as a way to move the organization toward its roots in public policy. The fellowships are an opportunity for the Lyceum to partner with universities across the state to examine the most pressing policy issues at the forefront of the agenda of our elected officials.
