W&L’s Alexander Kagan ’27 Named a Constitutional Studies Fellow by the Hertog Foundation

W&L's Alexander Kagan '27 Named a Constitutional Studies Fellow by the Hertog Foundation Kagan will spend two weeks in an intensive learning experience focused on American constitutional history and development.

By Emily Innes Stanley
June 4, 2026

Washington and Lee University rising senior Alexander Kagan '27 has received a Constitutional Studies Fellowship from the Hertog Foundation. At W&L, Kagan is double majoring in politics and history. Kagan is from Lewisburg, West Virginia, and graduated from the Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The Hertog Foundation's Constitutional Studies Program offers an intensive learning experience focused on the principles, institutions and statesmen that comprise American's constitutional self-government. This summer, 20 Constitutional Studies Fellows will spend two weeks in Washington, D.C., studying American constitutional history through some of its most significant conflicts and debates, with guest lectures from U.S. Supreme Court litigators, legal scholars, journalists, judges and policy makers.

"It is an honor to be among a group of select undergraduates and postgraduates, and the fellowship is a culmination of an interest I have had for a long time," said Kagan, who was also accepted into the American Enterprise Institute's Summer Honors Program. "I have been looking for avenues to expand my knowledge of American constitutional law, and this is a unique opportunity to do so in our nation's capital, during the United States' semi-quincentennial, surrounded by brilliant students and learning from renowned professors, practitioners and judges."

The fellowship is an important steppingstone for Kagan, who plans to pursue a joint J.D. and master's degree in history and practice law in West Virginia, focusing on constitutional litigation in private practice or the state government. This experience, combined with spending Winter Term 2027 at Oxford University studying English political and legal history, will also help inform Kagan's politics honors thesis examining John Adams' constitutional vision and how early state constitutions informed the Constitutional Convention.

Kagan is looking forward to building upon his previous experience in politics, including an internship with the West Virginia Attorney General's office during the summer of 2025, which helped him realize how he can apply his love of American political and legal history to helping his home state of West Virginia. He has also completed an internship through W&L's Washington Term with the Majority Office of the House Ways and Means Committee, interned for U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and will work for U.S. Representative Riley Moore of West Virginia this summer alongside his fellowship.

Kagan is grateful for the W&L faculty members who have provided mentorship over the years, including Lynn Uzzell, former visiting assistant professor of politics, who helped him discover his interest in constitutional law; Brian Alexander, associate professor of politics, who serves as his politics adviser and has supported him both academically and professionally; Lucas Morel, the John K. Boardman Professor of Politics, who has helped him deepen his understanding of political philosophy; Seth Cantey, the Lewis G. John Term Associate Professor of Politics, who has challenged his thinking in meaningful ways; and Sheahan Virgin, assistant professor of politics, who has encouraged his interest in constitutional law.

At W&L, Kagan served as the editor-in-chief of The Spectator, manager for the men's basketball team and vice president of W&L College Republicans and is currently helping to found the W&L Undergraduate Moot Court. He is also the first vice chairman of the College Republican Federation of Virginia and has volunteered with his local Republican Party organization in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

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