# Fellowship News The Weatherhead Scholars Program hosted two signing ceremonies to renew sponsored fellowships within the program. ## Hicham Alaoui Postdoctoral Fellowship ![An older man sits at a table signing papers with a pen, while a woman sits next to him smiling. Both are indoors at a desk.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/FellowshipNews-Moulay-signing.jpg?itok=9H8r8Fu_) Prince Hicham Alaoui, member of the Weatherhead Advisory Committee and founder and director of the Hicham Alaoui Foundation, recently signed an agreement to renew sponsorship of the one-year fellowship at the Weatherhead Center over the next three academic years. The Hicham Alaoui Postdoctoral Fellowship is a one-year residential opportunity for early-career scholars in the social sciences whose research focuses on climate and/or environmental issues in the Middle East and North Africa. The recipient is part of the Weatherhead Scholars Program, a multidisciplinary cohort including other postdoctoral fellows, visiting faculty, and practitioner fellows. The current Hicham Alaoui Postdoctoral Fellow, Peter Habib, received his PhD from the Department of Anthropology at Emory University. Habib’s research explores the environmental, social, and institutional conditions that undergird nationalism in the Middle East. Amid environmental change, mass migration, and a dynamic world order, these topics speak to some of the most pressing concerns of the contemporary moment. ## Polish Diplomat Visiting Fellowship ![Two men in suits sit at a table, signing documents, with a Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University banner in the background.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/FellowshipNews-Polish-ambassador-MarkElliott-SQUARE.JPG?itok=CAJKE4tl) The Weatherhead Scholars Program and Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have partnered since 2018 to support Polish diplomats as visiting fellows at the Weatherhead Center. This year, Bogdan Klich, head of mission at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington DC, renewed the agreement, ensuring continued sponsorship and further strengthening Polish-American academic collaboration. The fellowship enables diplomats to pursue independent research and engage with Harvard’s scholarly community. Mark Elliott, vice provost for international affairs and the Mark Schwartz Professor of Chinese and Inner Asian History at Harvard University, also signed the agreement alongside Klich. --- ![Headshot of Peter Habib.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_3_4__480x640/public/2025-12/FellowshipNews-PeterHabib.jpeg?h=73b1d138&itok=7BU0hszS) Through the Hicham Alaoui Postdoctoral Fellowship, I am granted the invaluable time, space, and intellectual camaraderie to develop as a scholar. Peter Habib Hicham Alaoui Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Scholars Program ## More from this issue [### Fall 2025, Volume 40 Number 1 ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025) ![Fall 2025 Centerpiece thumbnail showing illustration of soldiers pointing guns at men holding roses, alongside a duotone graphic "W" with the words "Centerpiece" and the issue information.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/Cover-16x9-social-and-thumbnail.png?itok=Lc8SNERC) [### Message from the Executive Director ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/executive-director) ![Headshot of Erin Goodman alongside text that says "Fall 2025 Message from the Executive Director" and her name against a gray background.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/cpfall25-message.png?itok=ypgmpBoO) [### Of Note ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/of_note) ![Aerial view of CGIS buildings and green.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/cpfall25-ofnote_0.png?itok=w_tsZhQB) [### New Books ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/newbooks) ![Collage of about a dozen book covers overlapping set against a beige background.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/cpfall25-newbooks.png?itok=uTNH8bI6) [### The Crisis of Pax Americana with Walter Russell Mead ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/feature_manshel) ![Walter Russell Mead and Erez Manela are seated in wingback chairs in conversation.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/11.12.25%20WCFIA%20Manshel%20Lecture_%20040.jpg?itok=e7HTe_kP) [### Dispatches: Undergraduate Researchers in the Field ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/dispatches) ![A smiling woman stands in front of a blue wooden building with white trim.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/cpfall25-dispatches.png?itok=RT0wz7jv) [### Student Programs ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/prog_student) ![Collage of six PhD student headshots in circular frames set against a red background.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/cpfall25-prog-students.png?itok=EBsXZSt_) [### Research Cluster on Global Climate Policy ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/prog_climate) ![Four people in business attire are seated in a panel discussion on stage, with one man gesturing while speaking and the others listening attentively.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/Program-climate-cluster.jpg?itok=UttGUWdy) [### Research Cluster on LGBTQI+ Human Rights ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/prog_lgbtqi) ![Three men sit at a table with microphones in front of a projected map of Europe, at a Weatherhead Center for International Affairs event at Harvard University.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/Program-LGBTQI-cluster-opener.JPG?itok=fJYdzPUZ) [### In Memoriam: George Hoguet ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/in_memoriam_hoguet) ![The words "In Memoriam George Hoguet 1947–2025" are written on a green duotone background. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/cpfall25-inmemoriam.png?itok=dFwwLPP1) [### Fall 2025 Photo Gallery ](/publications/centerpiece/fall2025/photo_gallery) ![Two women standing indoors, smiling at the camera; one wears a black blazer and orange top, the other wears a red and white striped shirt, with a framed map on the wall behind them.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/cpfall25-events.png?itok=H4ATAK5C) See also:- [ Centerpiece: Fall 2025 ](/newsletter-issues/centerpiece-fall-2025)