FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- The University of Arkansas is one of four institutions of higher learning nationally to be selected as a Year 2002 Truman Foundation Honor Institution Award recipient, according to the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation of Washington, D.C.

The award recognizes the University as one of the highest performing institutions in the 27-year history of the scholarship program, which is designed to recognize and encourage the nation’s most outstanding students who aspire to careers in government and public service.

"This is a high honor for the University of Arkansas, and we are grateful for such recognition from this distinguished foundation," said Chancellor John A. White. "It’s a strong testament to the rising academic quality and reputation of the University and the ability of our students to compete successfully with the nation’s very best students."

The other institutions receiving the award this year are Wake Forest University (N.C.), Lewis & Clark College (Ore.), and Deep Springs College (Nev.). According to Louis H. Blair, executive secretary of the Truman Scholarship Foundation, selection was based on three criteria:

• Active encouragement of outstanding young people to pursue careers in public service;
• Sustained success in helping its students win Truman Scholarships and;
• A Truman Scholar in 2002.

 

"I hope that we can find an appropriate time for the Truman Foundation to honor you, the University, your superb Truman Faculty representative Suzanne McCray who deserves much of the credit, and your outstanding Truman Scholars," Blair said.

The University plans to do exactly that, holding a major event to celebrate the award next fall, White said.

Dr. Suzanne McCray has headed the Office of Post-Graduate Fellowships since 1998, providing encouragement, counsel and preparation to talented students who wish to compete for nationally prestigious scholarships.

"Along with the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarship programs, the Truman program is deemed one of the most prestigious of the national scholarship programs in the country for undergraduates," McCray said. "This honor by the Truman Scholarship Foundation is tremendous, and will only fuel our students’ desire to compete. We are grateful to the Truman Foundation and to Louis Blair for their encouragement of the program at the University of Arkansas.

"Our students do exceptionally well in the competition not only for Truman Scholarships, but also for Rhodes, Marshall, Goldwater, Udall, Madison and other prestigious scholarships because they are exceptional students and caring people, actively involved on the campus and in the community," McCray added. "They participate in ambitious research projects, and they often are able to combine this with study abroad programs.

"We are most fortunate that the administration and the faculty of this University recognize the importance of providing such opportunities for our students and foster an environment and infrastructure that support their success," McCray added.

The University has produced ten Truman Scholars, including Stephanie N. Gosnell, a finance major in the Sam M. Walton College of Business and a 2002 recipient.

The U of A’s first Truman Scholar was Lucinda E. Jesson, a history major, in 1978. She was followed by Toni T. Friend, 1979; Mark R. Wilkins, 1980; Earnest E. Brown, public administration, 1990; Louritha Green, political science, 1993; Jon P. Fernandez, philosophy, 1994; Warwick B. Sabin, political science, 1997; Megan M. Ceronsky, international relations, 1999; and Angela C. Maxwell, international relations, 1999. With the exception of Earnest Brown, a public administration student when that major was lodged in the former College of Business Administration, the Truman Scholars studied in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Congress established the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation in 1975 in honor of the nation’s 33rd president. The merit-based $30,000 award is given to approximately 64 undergraduates across the nation who plan to pursue careers in government or elsewhere in public service. The Truman Scholars participate in leadership development programs and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government. The scholars receive $3,000 for their senior year and $27,000 for two or three years of graduate study.

Mary Tolar, deputy executive secretary of the Truman Foundation, said students who are selected today for the Truman Scholarship become the leaders of tomorrow.

"This is a remarkable group of students committed to careers in public service, truly this country's future leaders," Tolar said. "They are inspirational, as members of their selection panels - former Truman Scholars, federal judges, college presidents and other lifelong public servants - attest."

The 2001 Truman Scholarship Honor Institutions were Occidental College, the U.S. Air Force Academy, University of Kentucky and University of Southern California.

Previously named honors institutions include: Arizona State, Brown, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Penn, Princeton, Spelman, Stanford, Swarthmore, Texas, U.S. Military Academy, Utah, Virginia and Yale.