UD named Truman Scholarship Honor Institution

4:18 p.m., Oct. 25, 2005--Distinguished students and the University of Delaware itself were recognized for academic achievements at the General Honors Award Ceremony and the presentation of the Truman Scholarship Honor Institution Award on Oct. 23 in Clayton Hall Auditorium.

Louis Blair, executive secretary of the Truman Scholarship Foundation, presented the Truman Scholarship Honor Institution Award to UD President David P. Roselle and said every school has talented people, but only schools with an exceptional president and faculty become a Truman Honor Institution.

With two current Truman Scholars, UD has not just one, but two more named scholars than many prestigious universities throughout the country, Blair said. Congress established the Truman Scholarship Foundation in 1975 in memory of Harry Truman, the 33rd president. Since 1977, 2,328 Truman Scholarships have been awarded nationwide.

UD has an outstanding record of having Truman Scholars selected, Roselle said, with 15 selected since the foundation began, placing them among the top 10 percent. “We are very proud,” he said.

“Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Yale ... are the group we are joining in being named a Truman Foundation Honor Institution,” Roselle said. UD joins only 49 other institutions that have received this honor in the foundation’s 30-year history.

Louis Blair, executive secretary of the Truman Scholarship Foundation

Roselle also praised Katharine Kerrane, senior associate director of UD’s Honors Program, for her work with UD students who have applied for Truman Scholarships. In May, the Truman Scholarship Foundation honored Kerrane, along with 15 other scholarship advisers nationwide, for their efforts and success in preparing Truman Scholars.

Senior Dalit Gulak, a foreign languages and literatures major, one of the two UD students named a Truman Scholar in 2005, was on hand for the ceremony. The other 2005 Truman Scholar is senior Tom Isherwood, an international relations major.

After accepting the Truman Scholarship Honor Institution Award, Roselle did some awarding himself. He presented 330 juniors with General Honors Awards for their outstanding work in UD’s Honors Program.

The honored students:

Obtained 18 credits of honors coursework over their first two years, with a minimum of 12 credits in the first year, including three in the interdisciplinary honors colloquium;
Maintained a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA by the end of their first two years;
Obtained a minimum of 60 credits (including AP and/or transfer credits) by the end of their second year (with at least 48 earned at UD); and
Lived in the required freshman Honors housing their first year at the school.

Kerrane said that many students exceeded these standards. “Close to 70 percent of these students have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and six have a 4.0,” she said.

Roselle acknowledged the parents of the distinguished students for their assistance in their child’s achievements.

After the awards were handed out, a reception was held in the Clayton Hall lobby for all to celebrate their accomplishments.

Article by Leah Conway, AS ’06
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and Kevin Quinlan

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