Wyatt Russell is the 2020 Recipient of the Erika Fairchild Award for Best Paper

Wyatt Russell is the 2020 recipient of the Erika Fairchild Award for Best Paper. Wyatt graduated in May with a B.S. in political science and minors in physics and Spanish. 

“It’s an honor to be selected for the Fairchild award,” Wyatt said, “and to be able to continue the cause that Erika Fairchild researched during her career as well. I hope that other students and graduates continue the fight for criminal justice and education reform in this country and abroad, and push to both recognize and make the changes that still need to be made within our communities.” 

In his paper, “Revisionary School Discipline & Juvenile Justice Reform: Pragmatic Policy Reforms & Recommendations,” Wyatt aimed to comprehensively identify the causes of the School to Prison Pipeline (STPP), and to suggest key elements of an effective program that would seek to mitigate the Pipeline. These suggestions include governmental policies that would be necessary to support a potentially effective program, allowing for the provision of potentially more effective means of mitigation. 

In announcing Wyatt’s award, Professor Michael Struett, noted that “Wyatt’s analysis was extraordinary. He took on a huge policy problem, analyzed a large body of literature, considered several schools of thought, and came up with his own critical analysis on how to improve policies in this area and lead to better outcomes.” Students in the Political Science honors program consistently produce excellent work but Wyatt’s paper really stood out. 

To complete the honors program, students take a seminar level course in an area of interest to them. They then choose a faculty mentor to direct them on a one semester independent review of the literature in their area of interest, and complete an additional one semester independent study course to research and write their honors thesis. 

“I didn’t carry out this work with the expectation of getting an award,” Wyatt said. “I just want my work to be used as a means by which to inspire other advocates for equitable change, and to one day contribute to policy change on a local and national level.” 

Like many of his classmates, Wyatt thinks 2020 graduates are uniquely suited to meet today’s challenges. “It’s a motivating force to continue pushing for positive change with regards to social, environmental, and health issues, Wyatt noted. “2020 has shown the urgent need for public servants that have new ideas and hold themselves to high standards to meet the challenges of the world that our generation currently faces.” 

Wyatt feels privileged to have had the resources he did at NC State and believes they contributed to his success and ability to graduate during a global pandemic. “It has certainly contributed to my understanding of the need to be empathetic in such hard times where many have been much less fortunate.” 

One of the things Wyatt appreciated most about NC State was how much his professors cared about his success and well being. “Time and time again, professors were supportive and worked hard to foster a positive learning environment inside and outside of the classroom,” Wyatt said. “Shoutout to Professors Dmitri Mitin, Anne Auten, Kenan Gundogdu, and Steven Greene, and all of the other professors I had the privilege of taking classes, and working on projects with.”

Wyatt currently works as a project manager and graduate researcher at the Polarization, Extremism, Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University. He is working to provide tailored resources to communities of practitioners on prevention and intervention strategies to address extremism and polarization. Everyday at PERIL is different, “aside from my general managerial duties, some days I am researching topics myself or helping to write some of the resources we provide. Other days, I plan and prepare to moderate webinars, work on various IRB submissions for projects, and coordinate with our project’s partners regarding new ideas or other project developments.” 

Wyatt is also a student in the Master of Public Administration program at American University. I am working toward a career in policy as a strategist, manager or director and the MPA will help me further develop my skills in analytics and management. “I like to focus on the big picture and the little details – an MPA program allows me to do that while guiding me towards work as a public servant.”

The Erika Fairchild Award is given to the graduating senior who has written the best paper during the academic year. Fairchild was a professor of political science at North Carolina State University, where she was also the Associate Dean of the College of Humanities.