Secretary Madeleine K. Albright, President of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, announced that 75 students from 63 US colleges and universities have been selected as 2006 Truman Scholars. Scholars were elected by nineteen independent selection panels on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability, and likelihood of 'making a difference.'
The 75 Scholars were selected from among 598 candidates nominated by 311 colleges and universities. Each selection panel interviewed finalists from a 3 - 4 State region and generally elected one Scholar from each State and one or two at-large Scholars from the region. Each panel typically included a university president, a federal judge, a distinguished public servant, and a past Truman Scholarship winner.
Four Indian Americans are among the scholars selected this year. They are: Manasi Abhay Deshpande of the University of Texas, Mukul Kumar of University of California-Irvine, Kunal Malhotra of the University of Massachusetts and Alan Rohit Rodriguess of the Williams College Pennsylvania.
Each Scholarship provides $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 2,480 Truman Scholars elected since the first awards were made in 1977.
The 2006 Truman Scholars will assemble May 14 for a week-long 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 21, 2006. For a listing of the 2006 Scholars and more information on the Foundation, see www.truman.gov.
