May 6, 2009 - James Maddox, a graduate student at California State University, Bakersfield and history teacher at Highland High School, has been awarded a 2009 James Madison Fellowship by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation of Washington, D.C. Maddox was selected for the honor after completing an extensive and competitive process with applicants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the nation's island and trust territories. A total of 56 fellowships were awarded.

"I am extremely honored and humbled to have been selected for the fellowship," Maddox said. "My graduate research methods professor, Constance Orliski, gave me the information and encouraged me to apply. I know that I wouldn't have felt qualified if I had come across the application myself. She gave me the spark to apply and I owe her my thanks."

The fellowship includes a four-week summer program at Georgetown University where Maddox will join other fellowship recipients to study the foundation of the U.S. Constitution.

"The Summer Institute will be incredibly intensive with top-notch speakers, including Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts," Maddox said. "I'm ecstatic and really looking forward to the opportunity."

The fellowship will also fund up to $24,000 of Maddox's course of study toward a master's degree. He plans to graduate with his master's in American history from CSUB in 2010.

James Madison Fellowships recognize promising and distinguished teachers, strengthen their knowledge of the origins and development of American constitutional government, and exposes secondary school students to accurate knowledge of the nation's constitutional heritage.