FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — All four of the students nominated by the University of Arkansas for the 2005 Truman Scholarships have been selected as finalists, the Harry S Truman Foundation recently announced.

The four UA students selected as Truman finalists are juniors, Curtis “C.J.” Atkins, Catherine St. Clair, Tory Hodges and Hunter Riley. All four students are members of the Honors College.

“I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know each of these students, and I congratulate them on  their selection as finalists for such a prestigious scholarship,” said Chancellor John A. White.  “C.J., Catherine, Tory and Hunter have each enjoyed highly successful academic careers at the university and abroad, but they have also dedicated themselves to public service, which is strongly considered when awarding the Truman Scholarship. Each of them is certainly worthy of this distinction.”

Each year, colleges and universities nominate up to four students as Truman Scholars, and this year, the University of Arkansas joins Brown, Harvard, Swarthmore College, the University of Texas-Austin and Willamette University as the only institutions to have all four nominees selected as finalists.

Approximately 75 Truman Scholars are selected each year. Half of the scholars selected usually come from public institutions. Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, president of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation, said that Truman Scholars are selected on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability and likelihood of “making a difference.”

Each scholarship provides $26,000 to the recipient, of which $2,000 is used toward the student’s senior year and $24,000 is used toward graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions.

They are also exposed to leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government.

Scholarship recipients must be U.S. citizens, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of their class, and be committed to careers in government or the not-for-profit sector.

Curtis “C.J.” Atkins, a Sturgis Fellow from Fort Smith, Ark., is majoring in political science in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. He plans to study industrial and labor relations. He has participated in numerous political campaigns since high school, working to improve voter turnout. Atkins will interview for the Truman in Nashville, Tenn., on March 11.

Catherine St. Clair, a Bodenhamer Fellow from Little Rock, Ark., is majoring in international business with a marketing emphasis in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. She is currently studying abroad in LeMans, France. When in the U.S., she volunteers her time to organizations such as the Society for Adoption Awareness.

St. Clair plans to concentrate her graduate studies on nonprofit management.  Her interview will take place at Oxford University (England) on March 7.

Tory Hodges, a Bodenhamer Fellow from Alpena, Ark., is majoring in agricultural business in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and is currently studying abroad at Oxford. Her activities include serving as a past state president of the Arkansas Future Farmers of America and working as an intern for Congressman John Boozman and for state Sen. Randy Laverty.

Hodges intends to pursue a career in agricultural law. Her interview will take place at Oxford on March 7.

Hunter Riley, an Honors College Fellow from Little Rock, Ark., is a dual major in economics and political science. He currently serves as vice president of the Associated Student Government and volunteers his time to the Salvation Army, Arkansas Children's Hospital and the THEA (The House Everyone Can Achieve) Foundation.

Riley plans to focus his graduate studies on environmental economics and policy. His interview will take place in Nashville on March 11.

According to Suzanne McCray, associate dean of the Honors College and UA Truman faculty representative, the Truman Scholarship application is among the most thorough. Applicants must describe a satisfying service activity, a specific example of leadership, a problem in society that they would like to address, their plans for graduate school and more.  They must present a public policy proposal that requires extensive research. 

“This one application can take 50 or more hours to complete,” she said. “The students are tireless, and they have had great support from professors like Charles Adams, Hoyt Purvis, Todd Shields, and Stephen Sheppard who serve on our campus selection committee.”

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to the 33rd U.S. President. The foundation awards scholarships for college students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public service.  There have been 2,330 Truman Scholars selected since the first awards were made in 1977.

The U of A’s first Truman Scholar was Cindy Jessen in 1978. Previous Truman Scholarship winners from the University of Arkansas include Earnest Brown Alsor, 1990; Lou Green, political science, 1993; Jon Fernandez, philosophy, 1995; Warwick Sabin, political science, 1997; Megan Ceronsky, international relations, 1999; Angela Maxwell, international

relations, 1999; and Stephanie Gosnell, 2002. 

In 2002, the University of Arkansas received the Truman Honor Institution Award for its commitment to assisting students interested in a career in public service.