It is with a heavy heart that the American Australian Association and APSA Congressional Fellowship announce the passing on Saturday, February 19, 2011, of American Australian Association/APSA Congressional Fellow Sarah Jane Merl Miskin of Canberra, Australia. Her immediate survivors include her husband Ben Miskin. Having battled with cancer which delayed her participation in the class of 2008–09, the cancer went into remission and she joined her 2009–10 class of Congressional Fellows for the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Foreign Affairs Seminar in October 2009. The remission, however, was regrettably short-lived, and she had to return to Australia in January 2010. Throughout this tragic roller-coaster of health, and in the regrettably brief four months of her association with the fellowship, Sarah Miskin displayed a tenacity of spirit, an indomitable optimism, an infectious love of friendship, and a thorough commitment to the fellowship—her legacy includes a standard of excellence as a Fellow which will be hard to match by the generations of Fellows who will follow in her wake. She was the epitome of what can hope for in the international participation in the fellowship.

With a Ph.D. in political science from the Australian National University, an MA in political science from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and a Diploma of Journalism from Wellington Polytechnic, New Zealand, Sarah Miskin entered the APSA Congressional Fellowship as the Acting Executive Adviser to the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Parliament House, Canberra, Australia. She was the author of a score of publications dealing with the Australian parliamentary process and had been the book review editor of the Australian Political Studies Association Journal, the Australian Journal of Political Science, since February 2006. In her recommendation of Sarah for the Fellowship, the Australian Parliamentary Librarian noted that “she has displayed an outstanding ability to analyse, think creatively about a range of issues and work with others on assessing the future directions of our clients and of the Library's services. The Congressional Fellowship would provide a very timely opportunity for her to take forward her work on delivering information and analysis services to Senators and Members [of the U.S. Congress].” Although the expectation was not to be fulfilled, she will be remembered in the months and years ahead by those Congressional Fellows and congressional staff who were fortunate enough to begin to know her in the regrettably brief period of her time with us.