Eleanor Peterson ’26 never expected her senior thesis to turn any heads, but that’s exactly what it’s done.
Her paper, “The Unitary Executive Theory Realized: The Office of Legal Counsel on Privilege, Removal, and National Security,” was recently named 2026 Best Undergraduate Honors Thesis (qualitative) by Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society.
“When I learned I won, I was extremely shocked. I had never expected the work I did to stand out, especially with its punishing length,” said Peterson, who majored in political science. “I am extremely honored, and also grateful to have been in an environment at Union where I was encouraged to push my work to its full potential.”
Peterson’s interest in the theory, which is a constitutional law concept that gives the U.S. president complete and sole authority over the executive branch, was a natural outgrowth of her childhood ideals.
“Ever since I was very young, I have been consumed by the idea of fairness. Whether it was arguing with my siblings over who would get to play with the Gameboy next or my classmates over human rights violations, equity has always been very important to me,” she said. “And when I saw the movie ‘Vice,’ I realized something that lit a fire under me – it wasn’t fair.”
(“Vice” is a 2018 biographical satirical comedy-drama about Dick Cheney’s rise to become the most powerful vice president in American history.)
“I thought the movie’s explanation of unitary executive theory (UET) was enlightening and explained the state of modern politics very well,” Peterson continued. “When I started researching the theory, I found much of the scholarship on the subject was pro-UET. I knew I wanted to do some more work on the subject.”
Which she did in the form of her award-winning thesis.
“Ellie’s thesis explores how an academic idea – the unitary executive committee – became entrenched as a matter of policy through legal opinions generated by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC),” said Brad Hays, associate professor of political science. “The thesis engages in close readings of OLC opinions and memoranda that identify and explore the legal foundations and architecture for the unitary executive.”
“Importantly, Ellie’s thesis shows how this architecture was created by both Republican and Democratic administrations,” he continued. “This finding has implications for both how constitutional meaning is constructed outside of the courts and why unitary executive theory has become the dominant framework for understanding presidential authority over the executive branch.”
Hays was Peterson’s thesis advisor.
“I owe so much to many of my professors, who all pushed me to succeed, but the person who had the most impact was Brad Hays. He pushed me enough to make a piece of work that I could be truly proud of, which was my goal,” said Peterson. “I had no idea that I would impress any people outside of Professor Hays’s office. Or if I would even impress Professor Hays.”
“But through a lot of hard work, some all-nighters in Lippman Hall, and many tears, I made it through. If anything, this experience has taught me that hard work is always worth it,” she added. “Even if I hadn’t won the prize, I would still have produced a piece of scholarship that I thought added something to my field. And I think that’s pretty neat.”
Zoe Oxley, the William D. Williams Professor of Political Science and former Pi Sigma Alpha national president, agrees.
“We are so proud that Ellie’s senior thesis received this prestigious award. Faculty-mentored thesis research is a prime example of undergraduate research, which is a hallmark of a Union education,” she said. “Ellie’s thesis garnering national recognition further underscores the value to our students of this capstone academic experience.”
Peterson lives just outside of Baltimore, Md., and is a member of AmeriCorps. She is participating in Teach for America at KIPP Baltimore's Ujima Village Academy, where she teaches 8th grade ELA.
In 2011, Alex Brockwhel ’11, a political science and Spanish major, also won the same award. To learn more about this recognition, visit the Pi Sigma Alpha website.