On March 8, sophomore Biophysics student Ethan Posner passed away from a brief illness. In his freshman year, Posner was selected as a recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a three-year undergraduate research funding program that provides up to $10,000.
Some students, faculty and community members are pushing to rename the fellowship to the Ethan Posner Fellowship in honor of him. Sophomore Jason Shumsky and junior Arham Alam, both friends of Posner and the latter a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, are leading the initiative. They are collecting the names and testimonies of people in support of the cause through an online form.
In an interview with The News-Letter, Alam shared that he came to the idea of renaming the Woodrow Wilson fellowship after Posner on the day of his funeral after hearing people discuss that an award or fellowship should be started to commemorate him.
“Not only was [Posner] a Woodrow Wilson fellow, but he was emblematic of what we had hoped a Woodrow Wilson fellow would become,” he said. “He’s the epitome of a researcher who was brilliant, and he was an incredible science communicator.”
Last December, Posner shared that he started forming his independent research project funded by the Woodrow Wilson fellowship over the summer in an interview with The News-Letter.
In a statement to The News-Letter, Posner’s family described that he had a strong dedication to learning and research, and the fellowship allowed him to pursue his aspirations to make meaningful discoveries.
“His untimely passing leaves us with the opportunity and, perhaps, responsibility to enshrine his legacy,” they wrote. “The evolution of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to take on Ethan’s name will allow us to do so while ensuring his life continues to inspire.”
Similarly, Shumsky stated in an interview with The News-Letter that Posner embodied the ambition and energy of a researcher that the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship is meant to represent. In particular, he recalled Posner’s eagerness to share his knowledge with others and excitement about going to his lab.
“He really had a motivating and inspirational effect. He was so passionate about what he did that it carried off on the people that he talked about it with,” he said. “During his uncle's eulogy during the funeral, he said, ‘Put a little Ethan in everything you do.’ This would really be putting a little Ethan in generations to come.”
As of April 8, Monday, over 250 people have signed the online form in support of the initiative. This includes students, faculty, family and Posner’s friends from before Hopkins. The organizers are mainly using social media to spread awareness about the initiative.
Shumsky commented that they have been in contact with faculty and administration to seek support as well. This includes professors in the Biophysics department; Dr. Jennifer Wester, the director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity, which runs the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship; and Dr. Brittini Brown, the associate vice provost for student engagement and dean of students.
“It's very much a two-pronged effort of organizing people around this movement, but also interacting with those who actually have the influence to make a change, or at least who know the people who can help make a change,“ Alam said.
One of the professors that Posner worked closely with was Karen Fleming, the principal investigator of the Fleming Lab, where he was a undergraduate research assistant.
In an email to The News-Letter, Fleming highlighted that the fellowship gave Posner the freedom to pursue his interests and make discoveries.
“He was curious about so many things, and this curiosity is what drives research in general and what drove his research in my lab,“ she wrote. “Because this [Woodrow Wilson] fellowship offers unique opportunities to undergraduates, it would be amazing to honor Ethan by renaming it in his honor.”
There have been conversations about renaming the Woodrow Wilson fellowship since 2016 when History Professor Nathan Connolly submitted a motion in light of the former President’s racist legacy. The Student Government Association voted unanimously in support of renaming the fellowship in 2020.
The University formed the Name Review Board (NRB) in 2021, which makes decisions about renaming or de-naming institutional features. According to the website, three proposals have been submitted to replace Wilson's name.
As the renaming process of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship has been going on for a few years already, Alam aims to expedite the process of this initiative.
“Given that there are other names being considered too, we're trying to move with utmost speed to try to ensure that it's named after Ethan,” he said. “We want to make sure that we can generate enough clout so that we can compete [with other candidates].”
As a current Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Alam added that he would want to be a recipient of a fellowship named after someone with a strong devotion to research.
“He is what anyone would hope for in a fellow researcher. I would be so proud to call myself an Ethan Posner fellow,” he said.
Going forward, the organizers hope to build a larger network of support for the cause. They are also planning to submit a formal proposal to the NRB for review.
A memorial service open to all those who knew Posner will be held on Friday, April 12, at 5:45 pm at the Hopkins Hillel.
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