Margaret (Molly) Ariotti comes from Manlius, NY. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science and is interested in the effect bureaucrats have on structuring the quality of governance. Margaret is a Boren Fellow in Senegal. 

“As a fellow I am working on my dissertation research and also using the Senegalese National Archives to help me understand the colonial origins of the present-day bureaucracy. I hope to learn more about the ways in which the bureaucracy can shape public policy, and how the bureaucracy’s interactions with citizens help government stability and development.” Dr. Sona Golder, associate professor of statistics, adds, “Molly was extremely persistent and creative at finding funding opportunities and writing credible proposals, and the University Fellowship Office was a good resource. One reason why she was a competitive candidate for fellowships is that she had independently organized and funded a preliminary research trip to Burkina Faso. Molly’s Boren Fellowship has allowed her to visit archives and conduct interviews in Senegal for her dissertation research, and she now speaks conversational Wolof in addition to her fluent French.”