Dole Archives awards 2025 research fellowship and travel grants, marking the largest-ever number of grants awarded in program history; launches new educational grant program

October 1, 2025 - News

The Dole Archives has awarded its 2025 research fellowship and travel grants, and has also launched a new educational grant program supporting KU faculty who utilize the Institute’s archival collections in their courses. Photo by Jackson DeAndrea.

LAWRENCE, KS – The Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archives and Special Collections has awarded grants to researchers and educators that support travel and educational program development, all of which expands usage of the archival collections of Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. The 2025 award cycle featured a record number of awards distributed for research and travel grants, and the launch of a new grant program designed to support faculty at KU.

Home to one of the largest congressional archives outside the U.S. National Archives system, the Dole Archives offer unique insights into pivotal national and international events, the inner workings of congressional leadership, and the development of U.S. government policy across a wide range of subjects.

Established in 2010 and supported by the Friends of the Dole Institute, the Research Fellowship & Travel Grant program supports scholars, professionals, and researchers from all disciplines whose work involves on-site research at the Institute. This year, the Dole Archives also launched the Course Enrichment Mini Grant program, which supports faculty and instructors across all subjects and levels at KU who develop curriculum that draws from the primary resources housed in the Dole Archives.

“As we celebrate National Archives Month in October and the vital role the collections of the Dole Archives play in preserving American history, we’re excited to welcome these talented researchers and educators to the Dole Institute to engage with our collections,” said Sarah Gard, senior archivist and head of collections. “These grants reflect our commitment to fostering original research, interdisciplinary exploration, and educational innovation rooted in one of the nation’s most expansive congressional archives.”

The 2025 Dole Archives Research Fellowship was awarded to Henry Jacob. 2025 Dole Archives Travel Grant recipients include Dr. Jeremy Gelman, Hevi Gökdemir, and Selena Moon; digitization grants have been awarded to Tahir Herenda, and Dr. Ehlimana Memišević. Fall 2025 Course Enrichment Mini Grant recipients include Dr. Bonnie Johnson and Dr. Anna Yonas.

Henry Jacob, 2025 Dole Archives Research Fellow

Jacob is a Ph.D. candidate at the Yale University Department of History. His research at the Dole Institute will support a chapter of his dissertation titled, “Fueling Farms: Senator Dole and Environmental Politics in Kansas, Alaska, and Panama.”

At Yale, his research compares attempts to forge interoceanic shortcuts in the Americas, with a particular focus on the complex consequences of these efforts to control tropical and polar environments. Henry holds a bachelor’s degree in history with distinction from Yale University, and a master’s degree of philosophy in world history from the University of Cambridge. He’s also a recipient of a Fullbright Scholarship for research in Panama, and the Henry Fellowship, a distinguished scholarship from the Henry Fund that supported his studies at Cambridge.

Jeremy Gelman, 2025 Dole Archives Travel Grant Recipient

Gelman is an associate professor and director of graduate studies at the University of Nevada, Reno Department of Political Science. His research project, “The Representation and Policy Consequences of Legislative Time Allocation Decisions,” studies how members of Congress spend their time, and the representation and governance consequences created by those day-to-day activities.

A previous American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, Jeremy’s research examines American political institutions, with a particular focus on Congress. His current work is supported through a grant from the National Science Foundation. Jeremy holds a bachelor’s degree in distributed studies from the University of Colorado, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan.

Hevi Gökdemir, 2025 Dole Archives Travel Grant Recipient

Gökdemir is a Ph.D. candidate at the Northwestern University Department of Political Science. Her research at the Dole Archives is part of the preliminary research she is conducting for her dissertation, “A Research Agenda on Changing Territorial Sovereignty and Return of Conquest,” which focuses on the resurgence of territorial conquest as a factor in international system transformations.

Hevi originally studied history and international relations at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey, where she graduated suma cum laude. During her time at Northwestern, she’s received the Mellon Cluster Fellowship to support fieldwork and archival research in Middle Eastern and North African studies.

Tahir Herenda, 2025 Dole Archives Digitization Grant Recipient

Herenda is a Ph.D. candidate and senior research and teaching assistant at the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Law in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tahir will use his grant award to support digitization of archival materials related to his research project, “From ‘Lift and Strike’ to Dayton: Congressional Pressure and the Evolution of U.S. Bosnia Policy (1992-1995).”

Tahir’s research aims to examine the pivotal transformation in American policy during the Bosnian War, which Bob Dole was instrumental in while in the U.S. Senate. He holds a bachelor of laws and master of laws from the University of Sarajevo, and a master of laws in comparative constitutional law from Central European University, Budapest in Budapest, Hungary.

Ehlimana Memišević, 2025 Dole Archives Digitization Grant Recipient

Memišević is an associate professor at the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Law in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ehlimana will use her grant award to support digitization of archival materials related to her project, “Tracing Shadows: A Historiographic Memoir of Lost Childhood, Family, and Hometown.”

Through her research, she plans to offer a deeply personal yet historically grounded account of the events that took place in Višegrad, and how they shaped her life and those of countless others. Ehlimana holds a bachelor of laws, master of laws, and Ph.D. in law from the University of Sarajevo.

Selena Moon, 2025 Dole Archives Travel Grant Recipient

Moon is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Department of American Studies. Her research at the Dole Archives will support research for a chapter of her dissertation examining the background, context, and content of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Selena’s research at the University of Minnesota focuses on Japanese American disability history, and is exploring connections Japanese Americans have with the bill. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Smith College, and a master’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Bonnie Johnson, Fall 2025 Course Enrichment Mini Grant Recipient

Johnson is a professor and assistant director of the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration, and serves as director of the school’s urban planning program. An inaugural recipient of the new Course Enrichment Mini Grant, students in her class, PUAD 851: Infrastructure Management, will utilize the Dole Archives to support her teaching of the historical perspective in advocating for spending on basic infrastructure maintenance, and the transition to renewable energy infrastructure.

Johnson holds bachelor’s degrees in Latin American studies and political science, master’s degrees in political science and urban planning, and a Ph.D in political science – all from the University of Kansas. Before returning to KU for further studies, and ultimately teaching, she spent eight years as a practicing city planner in Texas, Missouri, and Kansas.

Anna Yonas, Fall 2025 Course Enrichment Mini Grant Recipient

Yonas is an assistant professor at the University of Kansas Department of Curriculum and Teaching, and serves as the coordinator for the department’s secondary history and government teaching program. An inaugural recipient of the new Course Enrichment Mini Grant, students in her class, C&T 541: Advanced Practices in Teaching Social Studies in Middle/Secondary Schools, will use the Institute’s archival collections in developing a classroom based assessment (CBA).

Anna holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the Ohio State University, a master’s degree in educational studies from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the KU faculty, she served as a classroom teacher and administrator for ten years.

Future Funding Opportunities
The Dole Archives is now accepting Course Enrichment Mini Grant applications for the Spring 2026 semester through December 1, 2025. Applications for the 2026 Research Fellowship and Travel Grants will open in early 2026. More information about these grant programs, application instructions, and important deadlines can be found on the Dole Archives website.

About the Dole Institute
Inspired by the leadership legacies of Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole, and the enduring civic contributions of the Greatest Generation, the Dole Institute of Politics strives to promote a new era of leadership that uses politics to bring people together through opportunities that emphasize bipartisan cooperation, public service, and civic education and engagement.

For More Information:
Jackson DeAndrea, Dole Institute of Politics
jackson.deandrea@ku.edu
(785) 864-4900