Robert B. Carleson (1931-2006) was the founder of the American Civil Rights Union and, as an advisor to Ronald Reagan, was the visionary of the 1996 Welfare Reform. An Eagle Scout from Long Beach, California, he began his career in local government administration and city management and served as Director of the California Department of Social Welfare. He later served as U.S. Commissioner of Welfare and Special Assistant to President Reagan. He founded the ACRU in 1998.
Each year, the ACRU will select one Public Policy or Public Administration graduate student as its Robert B. Carleson Fellow. The Carleson Fellowship will be an 8-week summer experience for a rising public policy or public administration professional who is an Eagle Scout.
The Carleson Fellow will work with ACRU senior fellows, legal experts, and staff to conduct public policy research, write opinion editorials, and write a major paper on some current policy issue, to be published by the ACRU. The Carleson Fellow will receive $4,000 for the eight week fellowship.
Applicants will submit a resume, current transcript, three letters of recommendation and a 750-1,000 word essay on why the constitution is worth defending in the twenty-first century. All materials should be emailed (recommenders should send letters directly) to info@theacru.org.