James Madison Fellow from Illinois excited to take MAHG classes this summer at AU

Dan Hogan is excited to start his in-person classes this summer at Ashland University.

“I’m registering for some really interesting classes on Race and the 14th Amendment and From the Schoolhouse to the Courthouse,” said Hogan, who will be working toward a Master of American History and Government (MAHG) degree. “I’m excited to see what other course offerings are available in upcoming semesters.”

Hogan, a high school social studies teacher in Illinois for a school district in the western suburbs of Chicago, received funds to earn a master’s degree at AU for being awarded a James Madison Graduate Fellowship.

The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation awards one fellowship per year for each state and $24,000 to each Fellow toward graduate-level coursework that includes a concentration of courses on history and principles of the United States Constitution.

“After doing some background on a few places, it seemed that Ashland was popular amongst Madison Fellows,” Hogan said. “I liked the fact that Ashland has a history with the Foundation, has interesting and rigorous classes in both history and government, and offers online courses during the school year.”

In addition to the money toward graduate schooling, Madison Fellows also spend a month in Washington, D.C., over the summer, taking classes at Georgetown University and having behind-the-scenes access to the White House, Congress, Supreme Court and other historical locations.

Taking in the sights, collaborating with other Fellows from around the country and having meaningful conversations about the content he loves are some of the things Hogan said he’s looking forward to during his month in D.C. this summer.

“It’s been on my radar for a while now and always knew it was something that I wanted to do,” Hogan said about the honor. “My department chair (Dave Elbaum) is a Fellow and always talks about how it was the best professional development he’s done in his professional career.”

Elbaum, who was the 2010 Madison Fellow for Illinois, said Hogan is deserving of the honor for the many things he does for West Leyden High School in their school district: teacher of AP classes in government, civics and law; sponsor of the social studies honor society; and curricular team leader of the civics team.

“Dan oversees the Civics Engagement Project, which is the summative assignment in civics,” Elbaum said. “This project involves students choosing a local issue that is important to them and lobbying for change within their community.

“Due to the project, students have successfully lobbied the village to fill in potholes, put up stop signs and increase funding for a variety of programs that are important to Leyden students,” Elbaum added.

Seeing students get excited about the content they are learning and feel engaged to get more involved in addressing issues in local government and community is one of the many things Hogan said he enjoys about his job.

He looks forward to deepening his understanding of American history and government through the Madison Fellowship program with the time in D.C. this summer and classes he will take at Ashland University to help him inspire his students.

“I’m excited to dive deeper into the sources and take in different perspectives of the content,” Hogan said. “This will undoubtedly help enhance and enrich the experiences of my future students in AP government, civics and law.”