暗网TV senior Noel Vanderbilt of Saugatuck is one of only three undergraduate students nationwide for 2025 from the Center for Public Justice to conduct an independent research project through the end of the spring semester.
The Hatfield Prize is awarded annually to three student-faculty pairs. Recipients conduct research on social policies that impact vulnerable children, families and communities, and explore the impact of these policies in their local communities. The semester-long research projects culminate in policy reports that make recommendations for both government and civil society institutions in contributing to policies that promote flourishing communities. The Center for Public Justice will publish the three reports in the fall.
Vanderbilt, who is double-majoring in political science and in English with a creative writing emphasis, will explore how variations in state nondiscrimination and religious exemption policies affect foster care systems and faith-based agencies in West Michigan. She will be mentored by Dr. David Ryden of the political science faculty, with whom she previously worked as a summer research assistant. Ryden, who is the Peter C. and Emajean Cook Professor of Political Science at Hope, has published extensively on questions of evangelicalism and public policy, religious liberty, and the intersection between Supreme Court jurisprudence and election law.
鈥淒uring the coursework I've completed at Hope, particularly in constitutional law with Dr. Ryden, I've become intrigued by the tensions between free exercise and nondiscrimination policy,鈥� Vanderbilt said. 鈥淭he Supreme Court鈥檚 2021 ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia far from settled the competing claims between First Amendment free exercise rights for foster care agencies and Fourteenth Amendment equal protection principles as applied to prospective LGBTQ+ foster parents. Both sides present compelling arguments for why their position is imperative to supporting successful child outcomes, but there is little research to objectively evaluate their claims.鈥�
鈥淭he broader motivation behind this particular project for me is personal: when I was in middle school, my family adopted a child out of foster care from another state which prompted me to consider how different state and federal policies influence foster care outcomes鈥� she said.
The project will build on research that Vanderbilt conducted during the fall semester through the Department of Political Science鈥檚 capstone course.
鈥淚 completed research under the primary guidance of Dr. Virginia Beard with assistance from Dr. Rachel Spooner to empirically evaluate a similar research question,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hrough compiling state laws, identifying four distinct policy structures, and measuring foster care permanency rates, that project offered an empirical perspective on the tension between the LGBTQ+ community鈥檚 potential to help meet the need for foster parents and the right of faith-based organizations to provide services according to their sincerely held religious beliefs.鈥�
Vanderbilt spent the spring of 2024 in Washington, D.C., through the college鈥檚 Washington Honors Semester. In addition to conducting academic work as part of the program, she interned at the Supreme Court in the Curator鈥檚 Office.
Her activities on campus have included the Emmaus Scholars Program and Markets & Morality, both of which are dedicated to cultivating intellectual communities informed by Christian thought through reading rich texts and engaging in thoughtful dialogue; and serving currently as editor-in-chief of The Bell Tower, a student-led, interdisciplinary, ecumenical journal at Hope that publishes pieces that promote the intersection between academia and the Christian faith.
During her time at Hope, she has also participated in the student chapter of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellows Program, the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor society, Student Congress and the Students Cherishing Life campus organization; interned with the college鈥檚 Jack Ridl Visiting Writers Series; and served as an orientation assistant and admissions tour guide. In addition to studying off campus in Washington, D.C., she spent the spring of 2023 at Liverpool Hope University in England.
Following graduation, Vanderbilt plans to take a gap year before applying to law school or graduate school in political science. She is interested in pursuing a career at the intersection of law and policy, additionally drawing on her English major to produce long-form journalism and write on social, political and cultural issues with a creative lens.
鈥淎t the heart of these interests is my conviction that local communities ought to be equipped to care deeply for one another and that telling stories is an integral part of this process,鈥� Vanderbilt said. 鈥淚 want to engage in scholarship that unpacks data while telling the story of individuals and families, helping to promote accountability for lawmakers and citizens as we seek how to practically love our neighbors day by day.鈥�
is a Christian nonpartisan think tank and civic education organization focused on advancing principles and policies that support a pluralistic society. The center鈥檚 mission is to serve God by equipping citizens, developing leaders, and shaping policy to advance justice for the transformation of public life. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, the center was founded in 1977 by citizens committed to developing and advancing an integrated biblical view of political service and responsible government.
The Hatfield Prize honors the legacy of the late Senator Mark O. Hatfield, who served as a United States senator from Oregon for three decades. Hatfield was known for his principled Christian faith and for his commitment to working across differences to find common ground.
This year鈥檚 other Hatfield Prize recipients are from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.