In 2013, the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance established the Dr. William R. Van Cleave Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship is offered exclusively to students from Missouri State University’s Department of Defense and Strategic Studies. This competitive fellowship provides these Master’s level students a unique opportunity to gain research and advocacy experience while continuing their education. Van Cleave Fellows support the advocacy operations of the organization and conduct research on a variety of issues relating to missile defense. Fellows receive an hourly stipend to support their education costs.

The position is named in honor of Dr. William R. Van Cleave, the founder of the Missouri State DSS program. Dr. Van Cleave held numerous positions including senior advisory roles for Ronald Reagan, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State.  He was a delegate to the U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) and part of the ‘Team B’ review of intelligence estimates of Soviet military capabilities.