PHILADELPHIA, May 27, 2025 – Eisenhower Fellowships has selected four outstanding American university graduates for its unique 2026 Global Scholars Program that will send them to Europe for a year of postgraduate study leading to a Master’s degree in public policy or international relations.
The 2026 Eisenhower Global Scholars include an analyst tracking foreign direct investment with a national security lens, a writer and advisor at Bloomberg Philanthropies, a research assistant in public health and political science and a Naval Academy graduate exploring how artificial intelligence can be ethically integrated into American foreign policy.
In September, these highly accomplished young leaders will begin an all-expenses-paid year of intense study and cultural immersion at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford for a Master of Public Policy degree and at the School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs at IE University for a Master in International Relations degree.
Attending the Blavatnik School at Oxford will be Claire Astrid Fuchs, 25, a graduate of Texas Christian University and Gregory Fullam, 29, a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College.
Attending IE University will be Maya Neiberg, 22, a graduate of Tulane University, and Richard Swann, 23, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.
Fuchs, an analyst at Jane’s, the global open-source intelligence company, has used her multilingual skills to bridge international cultural divides, including in conflict regions.
Fullam, a writer and advisor at Bloomberg Philanthropies, advises Bloomberg’s leadership team on global issues and how philanthropy can address them.
Neiberg, a research assistant at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, has engaged in discussions that shaped health strategies and policies while interning at the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health in Argentina and analyzed official U.S. government documents as a research assistant at the United States Army War College.
Swann recently completed a semester exchange at the Spanish Naval Academy in Galicia. Earning his master’s degree in international relations through IE will qualify him to streamline the process of becoming a foreign area officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
After their year of study abroad, the Eisenhower Global Scholars are immersed in EF’s worldwide network of more than 2,500 influential leaders from government, business, civil society, education, science, health care, the arts and journalism. After completing their studies they also will be offered an optional three-month professional internship in their chosen field.
The Chairman of Eisenhower Fellowships, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert M. Gates, hailed the Global Scholars Program as an important new dimension of the organization’s international people-to-people exchange initiatives.
“We congratulate these exceptional young leaders and welcome them into the Eisenhower Fellowships global family,” said Dr. Gates. “This important program exposes more young Americans to the world beyond our shores and extends the legacy of President Dwight Eisenhower to a new generation.”
Now in its 72nd year and named for America’s 34th president, Eisenhower Fellowships brings together innovative leaders from diverse fields and nations to tackle big challenges and better the world. Since 1953, more than 2,500 mid-career leaders from 115 countries have benefited from the unique, customized experience of an Eisenhower Fellowship.
Learn more and meet the Scholars.
For more information contact:
Erin Hillman, Vice President of Programs and Operations
ehillman@efworld.org
215-546-1738