ORONO – Nicklaus Laverty, a 2006 Honors College graduate from the University of Maine is one of 77 students nationwide to earn a graduate scholarship in the nationally competitive Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Program.

Laverty competed with 1,100 nominees to earn the scholarship which covers tuition, room, board, fees and books – up to $50,000 annually – for up to six years. The scholarships are among the most generous academic awards offered in the United States.

Laverty, a native of Lewiston, received highest honors from the UM this past May, completing his degree in political science. Laverty’s 308 page honors thesis was titled “Postponing Democracy: Vladimir Putin and he Emergence of Authoritarianism in Post-Soviet Russia.” This fall Laverty will attend the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, to begin working on his doctorate in comparative politics and international affairs.