Third-year UM Law student Andrew “Drew” Bagley was awarded the prestigious German Chancellor Fellowship for Prospective Leaders by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Bagley was one of ten Americans chosen this year, in addition to 20 fellows who were also chosen from Russia and China.

The Fellowship will allow Bagley to live and conduct research in Germany for one year.  His research will focus on German counterterrorism policies de jure as applied to citizens versus non-citizens, with comparisons to German tactics used during the Cold War against Eastern German terrorism.  Additionally, Bagley will compare Germany’s post-9/11 counterterrorism methods to those of the United States in the hopes of determining the efficacy of different Western approaches to terrorism. 

“I became especially interested in Germany and this research from my participation in the 2008 Miami-Leipzig Seminar, which, thus far, has been the highlight of my law school experience,” said Bagley. 

The Miami-Leipzig Seminar brings together students and faculty from the University of Miami and the University of Leipzig twice a year to discuss recent legal problems on both sides of the Atlantic, and to improve the understanding of each other’s point of view.

Bagley credits UM Law Professor David Abraham with encouraging him to apply for the Fellowship.  “He really encouraged me to go for it even though the time crunch rendered my prospects dim,” said Bagley.  “He also took great delight in my success and was always eager to hear any updates.”

Bagley will move to Germany in June to begin three months of mandatory intensive German language training.  In the fall, he will begin his research under the direction of a mentor from the University of Leipzig.  Although the thirty fellows will be scattered across Germany, the Humboldt Foundation organizes and funds various opportunities for networking throughout the year, including a four-week tour of Germany that will conclude in Brussels, Belgium.

An Orlando native, Bagley received his B.S. in Public Relations and his M.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Florida.  At the University of Miami School of Law, he received a HOPE Public Interest Scholarship recipient and was awarded the Dean’s Certificate of Achievement Award for International Law and National Security Law. Upon his return from Germany, Bagley hopes to gain employment in Washington, D.C. with a government agency.

posted 09-March-2009