Shannon Selected as 2014 Truman Scholar

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Cicely Shannon

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. –University of Arkansas junior Cicely Shannon of Texarkana has been selected as a 2014 Harry S. Truman Scholar. Shannon is a Bodenhamer Fellow in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and is majoring in economics with a concentration in international finance and economic policy.

Shannon, a member of the U of A Honors College from Texarkana, is one of 59 students from 52 U.S. colleges and universities to be awarded the prestigious scholarship this year. She will receive $30,000 to be used toward her graduate study.

Truman Scholars are selected on the basis of their academic success, leadership skills and the likelihood of their becoming public service leaders.

 “Being selected as a Truman Scholar confirms what we already know about Cicely Shannon — that she can compete at the very highest level,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “The Truman Foundation selects its students from the most engaged undergraduates in the country, who are committed to public service and to creating positive change for their communities, their states, and the country. Cicely has demonstrated an abiding commitment to service both on our campus and in the community, and she will clearly be an agent for change.”

Shannon is a National Merit Achievement Scholar, a national Coca-Cola Scholar, and an Arkansas Distinguished Governor’s Scholar. She serves as the chair of the Volunteer Action Literacy Program and has used grants from the University of Arkansas Women’s Giving Circle and from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to implement a Scholastic Book Program. She helped expand the number of volunteers with the Volunteer Action Center Literacy Program and has been an active member of the Associated Student Government cabinet.

Shannon has also actively participated in a variety of programs including Make a Difference Day, Race for the Cure, Razorfest Family Day, the Lee Creek Clean-up, and the Fayetteville Public Library. She worked as a writer for the Traveler and has also served as a supplemental instructor for economics, meeting with large classes to answer questions that some students may have been reluctant to ask faculty members. She also leads study sessions when students are preparing for exams.

Her future service interests include the development and implementation of policies concerning public finance. She is particularly interested in issues connected with infrastructure, municipal projects, and transportation. She plans to pursue a dual degree in public administration and business administration at Columbia or Harvard. After graduate school, her long-term goal is to work on financial problems associated with developing nations.

 “I was so surprised to learn that I had been selected as a Truman Scholar,” said Shannon. “Being a finalist was an incredible honor, and after meeting many of the other finalists at the interview, I knew that I was in amazing company. I am very honored to be a Truman Scholar, and I look forward to meeting all the other Truman Scholars at Truman Scholars Leadership Week, and to working with them in the years ahead. The scholarship will help enormously as I head to graduate school, and the connections with this talented, dedicated group of people will be even more important to me throughout my career.”

“The economics department is very pleased for Cicely Shannon and for the University of Arkansas,” said Bill Curington, chair of the department. “She is clearly a rising star who is admired by faculty and peers alike. She has had a great faculty support team both in the Fulbright College and in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. I look forward to following her career in graduate school and beyond it. She is clearly an exceptional person who will do exceptional things.”

This is the third consecutive year that a U of A student has been named a Truman Scholar, and Shannon is university’s 18^th Truman Scholar overall. The University of Arkansas was selected as a Truman Scholarship Honor Institution in 2002 for student commitment to service and its record with the Truman Scholarship Program.

Recent University of Arkansas Truman Scholars include Nathan Coulter, political science, 2013; Mike Norton, agricultural business and poultry science, 2012; Olivia Meeks, political science and economics, 2008; Dwayne Bensing, political science, 2006; and Catherine St. Clair, international business, 2005.

University of Arkansas students who are interested in applying for the Truman Scholarship should contact the office of nationally competitive awards at awards@uark.edu or 479-575-3771.