Professor Richard Matthews Scholarship Award

The faculty and staff members of the Department of Political Science at Lehigh University are pleased to announce the inaugural winner of an endowment created by Jon A. Ballis (Class of 1991) and Susan Ballis in honor of Professor Rick Matthews, who has recently retired from Lehigh University. The recipient of the first Richard Matthews Scholarship Award is Julia Klayman (Class of 2025).

The award goes to the graduating Political Science major with the highest grade point average who intends to attend a graduate or professional school in the subsequent fall. Please join us in extending our heartfelt congratulations to Julia on her excellent record at Lehigh!

Julia Klayman

Class of 2025

Julia grew up on Long Island, New York, and graduated from Lehigh University as an Eckardt Scholar with majors in Political Science and Global Studies. During her time at Lehigh, she was actively involved as a campus tour guide, TRAC Fellow, and research assistant. Through her academic work and extracurricular involvement, Julia created an interdisciplinary course of study focused on social justice and sustainable development at both local and international levels. Her research and work with the local NGO, Pathways Development Initiative, in rural Uganda deepened her interest in how legal systems impact communities, ultimately inspiring her to pursue a career in law. She will begin her studies at Georgetown University Law Center in August 2025.