The Strauss Center for International Security and Law in collaboration with the Center for Identity at the University of Texas at Austin are excited to announce that Bailey Crane has been selected as the university’s International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Westin Scholar Award recipient for the 2023-2024 award round.

Bailey Crane is a second-year graduate student, pursuing a Master of Global Policy Studies from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and a Master of Science in Information Security and Privacy from the iSchool. Bailey holds a B.S. in Radio, Television, and Film from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to her graduate studies, Bailey split her time between Austin and Los Angeles, working as an open-source researcher and archival producer for documentaries, feature films, and advocacy projects. In this role, she conducted extensive historical and open-source research while developing sources and uncovering relationship networks. Her work was featured most recently in Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood and an upcoming HBO and A24 true crime docuseries. Through her work, Bailey developed an interest in the complex, and often conflicting, dynamics between information transparency and privacy. Her concerns about information security vulnerabilities and their implications for national security and global stability inspired her interest in graduate studies at UT.

The IAPP’s Westin Research Center catalogues privacy-centered curricula and programs of universities worldwide to promote academia’s efforts to build up the field of data protection and privacy. The Westin Scholar Award is designed to support students who consider a career in privacy and data protection, and to develop a comprehensive and qualified body of professionals in the field. The award is named after the late Dr. Alan Westin, a preeminent scholar in privacy and data protection. The award will aid students in their academic and professional careers in the field. You can read more about this award here.

Applications for the Westin Scholar Award for the 2024-2025 academic year will open in Fall 2024. If you have questions about the award or the application process, please reach out to Ryan Anderson at ryandbanderson@utexas.edu and Susan Crane at scrane@austin.utexas.edu.