KU senior to compete for James C. Gaither Junior Fellowship
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has nominated an outstanding senior for the James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program offered through the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP).
CEIP offers 15 one-year fellowships to graduating seniors and individuals who have graduated during the past academic year to work as research assistants for Carnegie’s senior scholars.
KU’s 2025 nominee:
• Charles Johnson, a senior in global & international studies, history, political science and religious studies

Charles Johnson, from Lawrence, is the son of Christopher and Cynthia Johnson and a graduate of Free State High School. He is a senior honor student completing four majors in global & international studies, history, political science and religious studies. His academic focus is on Middle Eastern minority ethnic and religious communities in the context of human rights abuses and genocide. Johnson has completed research internships with the Politics & Society Institute in Amman, Jordan; the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East Programs in Washington, D.C.; and the KU Druze Studies Project. After graduation, he hopes to work in a think tank or humanitarian organization centered on the Middle East and/or North Africa before obtaining a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Arts degree to practice international law.
Finalists will be notified in February, and fellows will be announced March 31.