Miguel Cuellar and Kushal Lamichhane, third year economics Ph.D. candidates at the Sam M. Walton College of Business,
have been awarded Elinor Ostrom Fellowships from the Mercatus Center at George Mason
University.
The Elinor Ostrom Fellowship is a one-year, competitive fellowship program awarded to Ph.D. students who “who
are interested in the themes of markets, culture, morality, and sociality in political
economy.” As part of the fellowship, Cuellar and Lamichhane will explore these themes
through specific seminars and conferences hosted by the Mercatus Center and through
required readings. In addition, they will receive a $7,000 stipend to support their
work.
“We are very proud of Miguel and Kushal’s achievement. The Ostrom Fellowships are
open to any Ph.D. student anywhere in the world, so the competition is quite fierce,”
said Peter McGee, associate professor of economics. “Getting one would have been great,
but getting two is amazing, and it’s a testament to the strength of their respective
research agendas.”
Cuellar and Lamichhane work as graduate assistants in the Department of Economics.
The fellowship is a one-year fellowship for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Since 2013, Lori McLemore has served as the marketing and communications officer for
the Sam M. Walton College of Business. In this role, she writes press releases and
features articles to promote the work of students, faculty and staff. 
