Announcing the 2021 Richard P. Taub Thesis Prize Winners

The Richard P. Taub Thesis Prize, created in 2018, is awarded annually to three undergraduate Public Policy Studies students who have done original and extensive research for the BA thesis project, the major’s capstone experience. 

The award is named after Richard P. Taub, an esteemed professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago who passed away last year and who was instrumental in the creation of the Public Policy major, now housed at Harris Public Policy, in the 1970s. This is the first Taub Prize to be awarded after his death.

“We couldn’t be prouder of our graduating class this year,” said Sorcha Brophy, the BA Lead for the PBPL Undergraduate Program. “This was a difficult year for everyone – to be able to execute such rigorous research under these conditions is truly commendable. Eliana, Jacob, and Mercedes produced incredible theses and we look forward to following what comes out of their research in the days to come.”

The Taub Thesis Prize winners are:

Eliana Naora Melmed

Eliana Melmed is majoring in Public Policy with a minor in Media, Arts, and Design. She has worked as a tour guide and junior admissions counselor at UChicago Admissions for four years, where she discovered a passion for improving college access for under-resourced students. She’s served as a photographer and writer for the College Editorial team, a teacher’s assistant with the Neighborhood Schools Program, and competitor on the Moot Court Team. At the start of the pandemic, she wrote a children's book celebrating essential workers entitled Who Are Our Heroes? Following graduation, Eliana will be working at Qualtrics.

Thesis: “Equity Among Applicants: The Positive, if Limited, Impact of Test-Optional Admission”

Jacob Sims Speyer

Jacob Sims Speyer is a Public Policy major with a minor in statistics, specializing in health policy and economics. For the past two years, he served as under-secretary general of specialized agencies for MUNUC, UChicago’s Model UN conference. He was also a member of the UChicago Hillel Student Advisory Board. In addition, Jacob previously worked as an economics research assistant, where he fostered an interest in using data to answer overarching policy questions. 

Thesis: “The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Substance Use Referral Trends: A Mixed-Methods Approach”

Mercedes Wentworth-Nice

Mercedes Wentworth-Nice is a Computer Science and Public Policy double major at the University of Chicago. She is currently a research assistant with the To&Through Project and the UChicago Consortium on School Research where she prepares and analyzes data on the postsecondary outcomes of Chicago Public Schools students. While at the University, Mercedes has also worked for City Colleges of Chicago and Advance Illinois. In her spare time she teaches and dances recreationally with University Ballet of Chicago.

Thesis: “Overworked and Undervalued: Examining Teacher Leadership Through a Gendered Lens”

Undergraduate Public Policy Studies

Learn more about the Public Policy Studies major at UChicago.