Increasingly around the world, citizens are tapping local resources and volunteerism to organize social change outside of established norms and institutions. The distinct ways people mobilize and sustain those initiatives are what Catherine Herrold will study with her recently announced U.S. State Department Fulbright Scholar award.

Herrold, an associate professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is heading to Serbia for seven months in the Spring 2023 semester. She will live and work in local communities there, interact extensively with local residents and collaborate with scholars at the University of Belgrade.

Herrold spent five years doing similar research in Egypt and Palestine for her award-winning book “Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond” (Oxford University Press, 2020).

A senior research associate in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC), Herrold examines how people cultivate democratic citizenship through their work with voluntary grassroots groups and local philanthropic entities, as opposed to in professional nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Dean David M. Van Slyke says this prestigious award is a testament to the impact of Herrold’s body of work into citizen involvement and participatory governance.

“Catherine in an accomplished scholar whose timely research and innovative teaching is of sizable benefit to the Maxwell School and its students as well as the greater global community,” Van Slyke says. “That knowledge will help to empower individuals to work toward the changes they want to have happen in their communities.”

In a Q&A with SU News, Herrold offers insights about her interest in local organizing and what she hopes to achieve with her research.