Senior Associate Dean Ranjan Daniels Discusses the Obama Foundation Scholars Program

Harris Public Policy Senior Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Global Outreach Ranjan Daniels was featured in Insight Into Diversity, discussing how the Obama Scholars Program functions. 

"These are people in mid-career with an average age of 31, who have some work experience, and have been identified as emerging leaders,” Daniels says. “We didn’t want them to have to worry about funding so they can focus 100 percent on learning, content, building relationships, and developing scalable solutions to the problems they are passionate about. … They’re not here just to get an ivory tower education but to experience policy and problem solving in Chicago. They are spending time with community leaders working on the same problems they are working on."

The article featured Obama Scholar Ana Cristina Becerra Salas MAIDP '19, who said that "[the scholars] keep in mind how important it is to help bring together people of different colors." 

Obama Scholar Sri Andini Handayani MAIDP '19 provided further insight to the program, discussing how the program guides her research on violence against children. 

"I'm really grateful I've had mentorship in my life and my work, and now through this program you can see how amazing mentors are able to give you the perspective on how to shape a career," Handayani said. "Interacting with the different scholars helps me unpack the interconnectedness of one sector with the other."

Full coverage available at Insight Into Diversity.