2011 Rhodes Scholars Announced

A nationally competitive mountain biker who has worked in Sudanese hospitals. A parasite expert from Georgia. A research analyst at the Federal Trade Commission with a passion for bringing local agriculture to low-income communities.

These are among the 32 American students who will soon head to the University of Oxford as Rhodes Scholars, the so-called "oldest and best-known award for international study" that exists, as the Rhodes Trust announced Sunday. Selected scholars receive funding for two to four years of study at Oxford and must undergo a rigorous application process to be considered for the award. The winning scholars for 2011 were chosen from 837 applicants from 309 schools.

This year's crop is unique in several ways -- women outnumber men for the third time since 1976, even though men made up 54 percent of the applicants (the winning pool includes 17 women and 15 men). Two scholars come from South Dakota for the first time in history. And there are two new colleges represented by winners: Ursinus College and the University of California-Irvine.

Created in 1902, Rhodes Scholarships were founded by the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British philanthropist. According the American Secretary for the Rhodes Trust, Elliot F. Gerson, criteria for selection include "high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor."

See more about the 2011 winners and the scholarship here.

Comments

[farmilyman]

01:13 AM on 11/25/2010

I hope the winners look into the background of globalist Rhodes. That will be a real education.

[Natasha Iriah]

11:02 PM on 11/23/2010

Cecil Rhodes a philanthropist..... yeah..... rooiiiggghhhhttt...........

[GraphicMatt]

12:12 PM on 11/24/2010

Just because he was racist doesn't mean he wasn't a philanthropist...abhore his mentallity but you can't deny that the Rhodes Scholarship has helped provide opportunities to many talented and intelligent students. As a FSU alumni I was super proud of Myron Rolle when he got his.

[Meranda F]

01:20 PM on 11/23/2010

Congrats,

I would give almost anything to redo my college years and reach the academic calliber of these students. I cannot image living with so much purpose, it took me quite afew years to mature and focus my time on important causes. I was so impressed when my university produced a scholar ( in my academic field to boot)!

32 out of 837 applicants, the cream of the cream! There are so many opportunities to do outstanding work.

[mrcontinental]

09:18 AM on 11/23/2010

To describe Cecil Rhodes as a "philanthropists" is quite a stretch.

[GraphicMatt]

12:13 PM on 11/24/2010

Why? Racists from the 19th century couldn't be philanthropists as well?

[Amalek]

09:30 PM on 11/22/2010

A very impressive group of young Americans.  One thing that distinguishes them is the high proportion of immigrants. 

The divide in this country is not between the rich and the poor.   It is between those with more education than money and those with more money than education.   This group looks destined to join the former.

[chumt1]

01:21 PM on 11/24/2010

How do you know that any of them are poor immigrants? I don't see parental salaries listed.

[Amalek]

07:59 PM on 11/24/2010

Never suggested they were.  Proportion is not a derivative of poor.

[Mondayboy]

12:37 PM on 11/22/2010

According the American Secretary for the Rhodes Trust, Elliot F. Gerson, criteria for selection include "high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor." These are attributes of which Cecil Rhodes had none.


Cecil Rhodes was an English-born businessman, mining magnate, and politician in South Africa. He was the founder of the diamond company De Beers, which today markets 40% of the world's rough diamonds and at one time marketed 90%. He was nn ardent believer in colonialism and imperialism, he was the founder of the state of Rhodesia, which was named after him. After independence, Rhodesia separated into the nations of Northern and Southern Rhodesia, later renamed Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively and now we know the state of those countries.

I think the Scholarship should be named after someone more honorable.

[TheWorldBlowsUpTommorow]

03:44 PM on 11/22/2010

Or maybe it should just be abolished?

[stringer]

02:36 AM on 11/23/2010

I'm actually for abolishing it. No insult to those awarded, congratulations, it's something they can be duly proud of. But, as someone once told me of Cecil Rhodes, "He was a really, evil m--fer." Only they used the actual word. Having any scholarship named after him is an embarrassment.

[ThomasPaine1776]

02:12 AM on 11/23/2010

google Alfred Nobel. His family is responsible for dynamite and the packing of explosives into hollowed out shot, called "shells", which is modern explosive artillery, which killed 70% of the casualties of "the great war" 1914-1918.

[Mik McAllister]

08:20 AM on 11/23/2010

Nobel never intended his inventions to be used for war.

That is why he created the Nobel Prize, in an attempt to balance out the evil that was done with his inventions and make the world a better place.

[TeacupKitten]

10:48 AM on 11/22/2010

Congrats to all!

[PeterMelzer]

10:00 AM on 11/22/2010

Remember Rhodesia? Why would anyone wish to be associated with this history? "Swords to Plow Shares" is a motto easier to identify with.