Every year, the Bailey COE awards fellowships to fund summer (and fall and spring) research opportunities for Wesleyan students across all majors and class years. Most recently, the COE awarded more than 30 fellowships to Wes students! Learn about their amazing projects, below!
Laurie Kenney
think tank explores uncertain futures & risks
Every academic year, the Bailey COE invites a small group of Wesleyan faculty and undergraduate students, plus a noted scholar from outside the University, to gather together for the Think Tank: a yearlong discussion of a critical environmental issue. The 2025-2026 Bailey COE Think Tank features (left to right, top to bottom) Basak Kus, professor of government; climate policy expert Tim Sahay, assistant research scientist, Johns Hopkins University, and the 2025-26 Menakka and Essel Bailey ’66 Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Wesleyan; Hari Krishnan, Co-Chair, Global South Asian Studies, Professor of Dance; and Mitali Thakor, Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Studies.
wes grabs stars gold
Wesleyan has just earned a AASHE STARS Gold sustainability rating (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education). This is the second time we’ve received Gold due in large part to the Sustainability & Environmental Justice Pedagogical Initiative’s expansion of these topics in the curriculum and the implementation work of Wesleyan’s Sustainability Strategic Plan.
Wesleyan’s sustainability website includes links to past STARS reports and the 2026 report. Thank you to all on campus and within the community who helped to make these gains happen!
from campus to the ct capitol
On Wednesday, February 18, Wes students, faculty, and staff joined former state rep Christine Palm, founding director, The Active Voice, for From Campus to the Capitol: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Transforming Wesleyan Student Voices into Connecticut Environmental Policy Change. The event was sponsored by the Bailey College of the Environment.
2026 summer fellowship app now closed!
The Bailey College of the Environment (COE) Research Fellowship Program allows current Wesleyan undergrads to undertake research on environmental topics under the guidance of a faculty mentor, either during the summer or during fall or spring semesters. Projects must relate to any of the broad themes covered by Environmental Studies and the Bailey COE. Fellowships are available to current Wesleyan juniors, sophomores and first-years, regardless of major, and may be undertaken at Wesleyan or anywhere in the world. Full summer research fellows will receive a total of $5250. Partial summer & fall or spring fellowships, also available. Deadline for all, for 2026: February 25, Need more info? Email lkenney01@wesleyan.edu.
spring 2026 activism & advocacy series
The Bailey COE, in conjunction with students, is launching a new Activism & Advocacy Workshop Series this spring. Workshops aim to share concrete skills with students, faculty, staff, and community members to influence policy and make change locally, regionally, and beyond.
goh ’24: from wesleyan to washington
Debbra Goh ‘24 (ENVS/RELI) recently completed a year-long James C. Gaither Junior Fellowship at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in Washington, DC. She is currently a research assistant for the Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program there.
What research did you work on as part of the Gaither Junior Fellows program?
I finished my tenure as a junior fellow in summer 2025, but I continue to work as a Research Assistant in the Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. I contribute to a range of research initiatives spanning the program’s core focus. My work spans four main areas: the geopolitics of clean energy technology, climate mobility, climate activism, and climate adaptation.