Northwestern senior Ethan Barnes earns Marshall Scholarship

A recipient of the prestigious 2025 Marshall Scholarship, Northwestern student Ethan Barnes is bound for the United Kingdom to continue his studies and expand a deeply held commitment to criminal justice reform and public service.

The Marshall Scholarship was established by the British in 1953 as a gesture of thanks to the people of the United States for assistance they received under the Marshall Plan after World War II. As future leaders, with a lasting understanding of British society, Marshall Scholars strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions.

Barnes, who studies political science in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, has done more than aspire. He has worked with legislators across six states to pass bipartisan bills on probation and parole reform, including in Illinois and Virginia, as well as raised over $100,000 with grassroots organizations to support criminal justice reform advocacy.

“My interest in the criminal justice system stems from firsthand experience — like many other Americans — witnessing the injustices and inefficiencies that often occur within it, from wasted tax dollars on prison policies that increase recidivism rather than reduce it, to unarmed civilians being killed by police officers,” Barnes said. “These flaws undermine the American people’s faith in a system that fundamentally relies on public trust in order to function.

“A community that lacks trust in institutions such as the police makes it harder for officers to serve effectively, as collaboration between law enforcement and community members — often essential witnesses in solving cases — is weakened. Likewise, a system that has lost the public’s trust faces greater difficulty in building support for policies intended to improve it.”

Before transferring to Northwestern from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Barnes made history as the town’s youngest civil service commissioner, a role through which he helped facilitate local police hiring and promotion processes.

Barnes has honed his analytical skills as an undergraduate researcher at Northwestern, conducting research on mental health response teams in Washington, D.C., his home town, evaluating congressional action on police brutality in the U.S., and studying the evolution of policing in Italy. Most recently, he served as a research aide on professor Ava Greenwell’s Hearing Silences project, which is dedicated to spotlighting the history of Black women professors at the University.

Barnes also received a 2025 Truman Scholarship in April.

In the U.K., Ethan hopes to pursue degrees in criminology and law, after which he will attend Harvard Law School as a Truman Scholar through early admission. Following law school, Ethan aspires to become a federal prosecutor.  

“Ethan embodies the Marshall’s goals as a young American whose fascination with British culture began as a superfan of the Premier League's Manchester City Football Club and evolved into his academic interest in the Greater Manchester Police's innovative practices,” said Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe, director of the Office of Fellowships. “Ethan shares his deep investment in the capacity for the U.S. and the U.K. to lead global policy efforts with the other rare holders of both the Truman and Marshall scholarships.”

Northwestern's Leonardo Martinez-Diaz (WCAS '99) and Kaylyn Ahn (SESP '25) also earned both the Truman and Marshall scholarships.

Any Northwestern student interested in pursuing scholarship and fellowship opportunities can contact the Office of Fellowships to learn more.