Works awarded Fulbright Grant and Humphrey Fellowship
Robert Works
McConnell Scholar alumnus Robert Works, of Independence, has received a Fulbright Research Grant to Colombia and the Mary Churchill Humphrey College of Arts and Sciences Fellowship to the United Kingdom.
The Fulbright grant covers Works' expenses as he analyzes the effects of Colombia's judicial reforms during the 2011-2012 academic year.
Upon his return from the Fulbright grant, Works will use the Mary Churchill Humphrey Fellowship to pursue a master's of philosophy in Latin American Studies at St. John's College at the University of Cambridge (2012-2013).
Works said he plans to pursue a doctoral degree in international relations or comparative politics, with long-term plans to secure a career spot in the U.S. Dept. of State.
Currently on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to El Colegio de Mexico, Works said he first became interested in Latin America and judicial reforms as an undergraduate student at the University of Louisville.
"I grew especially focused on the inability of so many states in the region to administer justice effectively and to ensure that the protection of rights is accessible to even the politically weakest, marginalized groups," Works said.
Works earned the 2010 Woodcock Medal from the University of Louisville's College of Arts and Sciences, the highest academic honor offered by the college.
Works marks the sixth McConnell Scholar to receive a Fulbright grant and the first to receive the Humphrey Fellowship.