Anna Mathis, an honors junior at the U of A, has been awarded the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship for 2023. The scholarship provides $30,000 for graduate school and a lifetime network with other Truman Scholars, past and present. 

Mathis, who is from Valley Springs, was one of 62 scholars selected from 705 applicants at 275 institutions based on her academic success, leadership experiences and her likelihood of becoming a public service leader.

“I am honored to receive the Truman Scholarship and join the ranks of new scholar friends I met at the interview and mentors like Victoria Maloch that I have respected for years,” Mathis said. “This program has been on my radar for a while, so part of the excitement of this award is the validation of years of hard work. Even greater is the joy in representing my hometown and home state. I am extremely proud to be from a small Arkansas community in the Ozarks. It will be an honor to continue advocating for rural America.”

“We have confidence that these 62 new Trumans will meet their generation's challenges together," said Terry Babcock-Lumish, the foundation’s executive secretary and a 1996 Truman Scholar from Pennsylvania. “Selected from across America, the 2023 Truman Scholars reflect our country as innovative, purposeful, patriotic problem-solvers, never shying away from a challenge.”

Throughout her academic career at the U of A, Mathis has been extensively engaged in campus and community service. She embraced a significant challenge her sophomore year as the National Future Farmers of America secretary, leading more than 800,000 members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is pursuing an honors degree in agricultural education, communications and technology in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, and she plans to add a minor in global studies next semester while studying at the U of A Rome Center.  

“Anna Mathis is an amazing student and public servant who is dedicated to addressing important issues in Arkansas and around the world,” said Jean-Francois Meullenet, interim dean of Bumpers College. “She represents the commitment and drive that is characteristic of the students in our college and at our university. We are very proud of her and all that she has done and no doubt will do.”

Mathis plans to pursue a career in rural development and international agriculture development, focusing on food security. She would like to begin her career in Washington, D.C., working on rural and agricultural policy or with international agriculture development nonprofits such as the World Food Programme, focusing her efforts on sub-Saharan Africa. Her long-term goal is to move back to Arkansas and help find ways to benefit rural communities and address childhood food insecurity.

“I would love to work for the USDA or international agricultural organizations because I want to focus on policy work and really think about the big picture when it comes to food security,” Mathis said. “I am passionate about addressing childhood food insecurity, and I think that it starts with policy work, especially in rural areas. My goal is to return to Arkansas and work to create equitable food systems in the state.”

Mathis has been an active participant in various programs related to food security and rural development. She has worked with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and served as a student mentor in the National Science Foundation-funded STEM Ready program. 

Additionally, she has worked as a research assistant in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology, where she has conducted research on agricultural education in Arkansas and its effect on student learning outcomes.

“Anna, like so many of our students, has service as a driving principle. Congratulations to her on the creativity and dedication that led to her receiving this highly competitive recognition,” said U of A Chancellor Charles Robinson. “It is well deserved, and we look forward to seeing the important work she will do in this state and beyond it.”

Mathis plans to use the scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in global development and agricultural economics, with a focus on food security and rural development.

Mathis also expressed gratitude for her support from her mentor, Jill Rucker, associate professor of agriculture, education, communications and technology in Bumpers College.

“Dr. Rucker is the reason I applied for this scholarship, telling me I would be a Truman Scholar years before I was even an undergraduate student,” Anna said.

“Serving as a mentor to Anna Mathis has been a pleasure,” Rucker said. “She is a resilient, goal-oriented critical thinker who has a vision for what she wants to accomplish and has the ability to adapt her leadership style to those she serves. Her work with the FFA is a great example of her abilities to face a challenge and turn it into an opportunity.”

U of A students who are interested in applying for the Truman Scholarship should contact the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards at awards@uark.edu.

About U of A Truman Scholars: The University of Arkansas has produced 26 Truman Scholars, more than any other university in the Southeastern Conference. In 2002, the University of Arkansas was named a Truman Scholarship Honor Institution for student commitment to service and its record with the Truman Scholarship Program. Since 2012, 11 U of A students have been named Truman Scholars. Recent Scholars include: Coleman Warren, industrial engineering and political science, 2022; Samia Ismail, biomedical engineering, 2019; Ryann Alonso, political science and communication, and Sam Harris, agricultural business, 2017; Victoria Maloch, agricultural business, and Danielle Neighbour, civil engineering, 2016; Grant Addison, history and political science, 2015; Cicely Shannon, economics, 2014; Nathan Coulter, political science, 2013; and Mike Norton, agricultural business and poultry science, 2012. 

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.