The McCloskey Fellowship commemorates the life and work of former Congressman Frank McCloskey, who dedicated himself to the advancement of peace and democracy in the Balkans. The fellowship supports a biennial exchange program between Indiana University and the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
McCloskey Fellows from the Balkans travel to the United States, for work on a project that addresses democratic change in the Balkans as scholars-in-residence at Indiana University. McCloskey Fellows from Indiana University travel to the Balkans to pursue internships or field research in the area. The McCloskey Fellowship is jointly administered by the National Democratic Institute and the Russian and East European Institute (REEI) at Indiana University. For more information, contact Mark Trotter, martrott@indiana.edu.
History of the McCloskey Fund
The McCloskey Fund was established in 2005 through the efforts of Frank McCloskey’s late wife, Roberta, and the McCloskeys’ friends and colleagues. The program is supported by generous contributions of more than one hundred donors from the Bloomington area, Washington, D.C., and overseas.
Frank McCloskey represented Indiana’s 8th District in Congress from 1983 to 1995. As a congressman, he took a passionate interest in the tragic conflicts of the former Yugoslavia. Withstanding the resistance of his party and the White House, McCloskey persistently advocated for U.S. action to stop the genocide in former Yugoslavia. His efforts in large part spurred U.S. involvement in the diplomatic process that culminated in the signing of the Dayton Accords in 1995. After an unsuccessful re-election campaign in 1994, McCloskey devoted all his energies to the cause of ending ethnic strife in the Balkans, making six trips to Bosnia and serving the National Democratic Institute as Kosovo Director.
The McCloskey Fund honors and perpetuates Frank McCloskey’s memory through the McCloskey Fellowship, an exchange program between the United States and countries of the former Yugoslavia for scholars and civil activists committed to his vision of peace and freedom in the Balkans. McCloskey Fellows from the Balkans travel to the United States, for work on a project that addresses democratic change in the Balkans as scholars-in-residence at Indiana University. McCloskey Fellows from Indiana University travel to the Balkans to pursue internships or field research in the area. The McCloskey Fellowship is jointly administered by the National Democratic Institute and the Russian and East European Institute (REEI) at Indiana University.
McCloskey fellows
A native of Montenegro, Danka holds batchelor’s and master’s degrees in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Donja Gorica, in Podgorica. While an undergraduate, Danka attented the American University in Washington, D.C. where, besides attending courses on a U.S. Department of State scholarship, she also tutored underprivileged children in the D.C. metropolitan area and volunteered in Democratic Party presidential, state, and local campaigns. As a McCloskey Fellow, Danka pursued comparative research on equality and women’s rights. She consulted a broad array of faculty specialists, met with representatives of the National Democratic Institute and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, and spoke to high school students about important gender issues. Through several volunteering experiences, Danka met with people in the Bloomington community and conducted interviews about their stands on gender issues.
Currently pursuing an M.A. in Russian and East European Studies as well as an M.P.H. in Behavioral, Social, and Community Health at Indiana University-Bloomington, Rebecca served as United States Peace Corps Community Health Educator in Divjakë, Albania from 2008 to 2009.As McCloskey Fellow, Rebecca will return to Albania to examine the evolving complexities of community mental health in that country by conducting interviews with family caregivers – the most common source of support for Albanians living with mental illness and/or disability – and observing the work of organizations that operate within Albania’s mental health sector. In addition to her research in Albania, she also plans to visit Kosovo to deliver talks about mental health with the assistance of Shqipe Pantina, a McCloskey Fellow in residence at IU-Bloomington in 2012.
The founder and executive director of the Center for Policy and Advocacy in Prishtina (Kosovo), Shqipe conducted research on the relationship between electoral systems, party politics, and democracy during two months on the IU-Bloomington campus as a McCloskey Fellow. In addition to consultations with IU faculty, city and government officials, and local politicians, Shqipe’s research also encompassed a week-long series of meetings in Washington, DC with representatives of the National Democratic Institute, the US State Department, Democracy International, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, U.S.A.I.D., and the World Justice Project, and the National Albanian American Council
As a recipient of the McCloskey Fellowship, Austin travelled to the Balkans to pursue an independent research project as part of her M.A. essay for Russian and East European studies on microfinance in Bosnia. Focusing on a microcredit organization located outside of Sarajevo, Austin conducted interviews designed to elicit information regarding the health of the Bosnian microcredit sector with a focus on borrowing and lending habits as well as the issues of repayment practices and over-indebtedness. She plans to use this information to form policy-related recommendations for implementation at the government and organizational level once she completes her dual M.A./M.P.A. degree.
A young Macedonian lawyer, Bosko conducted research on youth involvement in politics as a McCloskey Fellow at IU. He subsequently has taken another leave from his position in the Macedonian cabinet to pursue a Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies at Trinity College, Cambridge. In concert with the National Democratic Institute and other contacts established through the McCloskey Fellowship, he is organizing a conference in Cambridge to mark the 10th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement for peace between the Republic of Macedonia and its Albanian minority.
As a McCloskey Fellow, Lauren interned in the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, working on civic-education programs. Lauren graduated from IU in 2010 with an M.A. in Russian and East European studies, receiving the Daniel Armstrong Award for her thesis “Authentic Bosnia: (Re) Constructing Nostalgia in Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina,” aspects of which she presented at the Royal Geographical Society conference in London. She now works at the Peace Operations Training Institute, coordinating e-courses for soldiers, civilians, and diplomats involved in UN peace missions.
A young Serbian lawyer, Milica used the McCloskey Fellowship to investigate affirmative action and other anti-discrimination educational policies in the U.S. while at IU. Upon returning to Serbia, she disseminated that research in articles for Serbian legal journals and in a series of lectures about mechanisms for human rights protection in the European Union at the University of Belgrade law school. She has since helped prepare a SIGMA survey on civil-service professionalization in Serbia and a Methodology Document for Danish Refugee Council regarding displaced persons in Serbia.
A doctoral student in the IU History Department, Ramajana was born and raised in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She lived in Zagreb, Croatia for three years as a refugee from the Bosnian War before emigrating to San Francisco in 1995. As a McCloskey Fellow, she traveled to Croatia and Bosnia to research her dissertation, “Performing Tradition: Sephardi Women in Interwar Bosnia,” which examines the struggles of Sephardi women to maintain their communal identity. Supported by IREX/IARO and ACTR grants, Ramajana returned to the Balkans to conduct further archival research in 2010 and 2011 .
While a law student at the University of Banja Luka, Jelena used the McCloskey Fellowship to study local government and youth policy as a scholar-in-residence at IU. Upon her return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, she completed her law degree and consulted on the Balkan Youth Health Project. An apprenticeship in the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Srpska led to her current position there as senior officer for licensing and standardization in the Department of Higher Education.
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