Student Receives Henry Salvatori–James Madison Fellowship

The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation of Washington, D.C., has chosen CLU alumna Melissa Binder to become a fellow in its thirteenth annual fellowship competition.

The award is intended to recognize promising and distinguished teachers and to strengthen their knowledge of the American constitutional government thus exposing secondary school students to accurate knowledge of the nation’s constitutional heritage. Recipients are required to teach American history or social studies in a secondary school for at least one year for each year of fellowship support.

Binder, the only fellowship recipient from a California university, recently graduated summa cum laude from CLU with a degree in history and Spanish. With plans to continue her studies at CLU in the fall, the Santa Paula native will use the award to attain her teaching credential and a master’s degree in education.

The 47 James Madison Fellows were selected from a nationwide competition that included the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the nation’s island and trust territories.

Fellowships are funded by a trust fund in the Treasury of the United States and from additional private gifts, corporate contributions, and foundation grants, such as the Henry Salvatori Foundation of Los Angeles, which funded Binder's fellowship.