The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) is proud to announce its new cohort of Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellows for the 2025–2026 academic year.
Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellowships provide a year-long, interdisciplinary cohort experience that equips students to carry out boundary-pushing research on key ethical issues, deepening their vocational discernment, expanding their skills for engaging public audiences, and growing their professional network. The fellowship includes a premium stipend of $44,000, a $1,000 research account, release from teaching assistant duties and other departmental service, and dedicated office space in ECG.
"All five of these students have demonstrated remarkable ingenuity and passion for the common good throughout their studies thus far,” said Jeff Tolly, ECG’s assistant director of educational initiatives. “We can't wait to get to work with them this fall."
ECG's 2025-2026 Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellows are:
- Adriana Albanus, Ph.D. candidate in political science, University of Notre Dame
- Matthew Coetzee, Ph.D. candidate in sociology, University of Notre Dame
- Alejandra Nogueda, Ph.D. candidate in Romance languages, University of Notre Dame
- Emmanuel Ojeifo, Ph.D. candidate in theology, University of Notre Dame
- Yunyan Zhao, Ph.D. candidate in psychology, University of Notre Dame
Wilsey Fellows will collaborate with ECG's 2025-2026 cohort of faculty fellows, who are scholars from universities throughout the world who will spend the upcoming academic year in residence at Notre Dame, doing research on projects related to this year’s ECG theme of “The Future of Virtue Ethics.” All ECG fellows participate in weekly seminars that focus on work in progress, providing a regular context for collaborative feedback and support.
Applications for the 2026-2027 Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellowship program will open in the fall. To learn more about the fellowship program, please visit ECG’s website.
This program is made possible with the generous support of Michael and Barbara Wilsey.
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The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good is at the heart of the Ethics Initiative, a University-wide effort to establish Notre Dame as a premier global destination for the study of ethics. Under the leadership of Meghan Sullivan, Ethics Initiative director and Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy, the institute focuses on cross-disciplinary ethics research, undergraduate course development, the moral formation of its students and faculty, and engaging the public in meaningful dialogue around ethical issues.