2011 Truman Scholars Announced

Madeleine K. Albright, president of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, announced that 60 students from 54 US colleges and universities have been selected as 2011 Truman Scholars. They were elected by seventeen independent selection panels on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability, and likelihood of 'making a difference.'

The 60 Scholars were selected from among 602 candidates nominated by 264 colleges and universities. Each selection panel interviewed Finalists from a 3 - 4 state region and generally elected one Scholar from each state. Each panel typically included a university president, a federal judge, a distinguished public servant, and a past Truman Scholarship winner.

Each Scholarship provides up to $30,000 for graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government. Recipients must be US 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.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to our thirty-third President. The Foundation awards scholarships for college students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public service. The activities of the Foundation are supported by a special trust fund in the US Treasury. There have been 2790 Truman Scholars elected since the first awards were made in 1977.

The 2011 Truman Scholars will assemble May 17 for a leadership development program at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, and receive their awards in a special ceremony at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, on May 22, 2011. For a listing of the 2011 Scholars and more information on the Foundation, see www.truman.gov.

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Selected statistics on the 2011 Scholars:

• 4 institutions have Truman Scholars for the first time;
• 5 attend a small college [undergraduate enrollment less than 2000 students];
• 6 attend one of America’s 50 largest universities;