Click on the image to read the final report.
Dear Friends,
It is with great pride I submit to you the final report for the 2021 Roosevelt Scholars program.
Thanks to an extremely generous alumni donation, we were able to increase our cohort this year from six scholars
to ten, and despite the demands of yet another remote summer, we’ve expanded and enhanced the academic
practicum, “Framing the American Experience” to a such point that in a few years, it might be possible to use it as
a model at other universities to help create the “informed citizenry” Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt believed so
essential to the survival of our democracy. Certainly, in reading of our scholars’ experiences, one is struck by their
admission of how little they knew (or in some cases, cared) about the history and workings of our nation before
joining the program. It’s truly gratifying then to observe their surprise and pleasure at their new-found knowledge
of how our past informs our present, and how they can help shape our future.
Equally important, especially in this remote year, were the one-to-one relationships many of the scholars developed
with their project leads. If truth be told, the academic and professional demands of their new roles were
unanticipated by many of the scholars—rather like being thrown into the deep end of the pool and
told to swim—but the kindness and consideration of the project leads ensured that their wards not only made
it back to the edge, but actually thrived in their new setting. As you’ll read, the scholars have gained skills and
established work patterns that will benefit them throughout their remaining Harvard years and well into their
working lives.
Next summer, deo volente, we will be back live in Cambridge with a new group of ten scholars, and the adventure
will begin anew.
My sincerest thanks to all of our supporters who make this endeavor possible.
Michael