History of Public Interest Programs

The Elrod Fellowship is based on the model set by Princeton’s Project 55 and other affiliates of The Alumni Network (TAN).  Princeton’s Project 55 was created in 1989 by Princeton’s Class of 1955. In 1990, Project 55’s Public Interest Program began with eight year long fellows.  Since its inception, the PIP has placed over 1,000 individuals in non-profits nationwide.  The Alumni Network is a network of alumni-based public interest programs.  To date, twenty-two public interest programs are affiliates of TAN.  These include Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, Bucknell, and Stanford.  Washington and Lee’s Elrod Fellowship is part of this network.