JBHE: Latest News for 5/18/06

Six African Americans Win Rangel Fellowships for Graduate Study in International Affairs

Congressman Charles Rangel of New York has served in Congress for nearly 36 years. A graduate of New York University and St. John’s University School of Law, Rangel earned the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star during service in Korea. In honor of his longstanding public service, Congress and the U.S. Department of State have authorized the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship Program.

Each year the Rangel program chooses 10 fellows in a highly competitive nationwide selection process. Rangel fellows receive up to $28,000 annually in assistance for tuition, room, board and other related expenses for a two-year master’s degree in international affairs or a related topic. Following their successful completion of the fellows program, scholarship recipients are eligible for positions in the foreign service.

This year six of the 10 recipients of Rangel fellowships are African Americans:

La June Barnes of Bay Shore, New York, attended New York University and majored in political science and Spanish literature.
Christopher Hartfield of Atlanta, Georgia, earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations and psychology at Stanford University.
Brandon Jackson of Jacksonville, Florida, is currently completing a graduate certificate in Chinese and American studies at the Hopkins Nanjing Center in China. He is a 2003 graduate of Cornell University.
Marcus R. Jackson of Montgomery, Alabama, recently earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and public management at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Florida.
Teresa Williamson of Sacramento, California, is a graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans where she majored in Japanese studies.
Hanan Yehia, who grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and Cincinnati, Ohio, graduates from Howard University this spring with a bachelor’s degree in political science.