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Last modified: Friday, April 13, 2012

IU Bloomington Honors Convocation recognizes students' academic achievements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Bloomington students will be honored for academic achievement at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 15, in the annual Honors Convocation at the IU Auditorium.

Twenty-four students will receive special recognition for being chosen to receive university awards for scholarship, leadership and service and for earning nationally competitive scholarships. The ceremony will also honor Founders Scholars, undergraduate degree-seeking students who have earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.8 or above.

Herman B Wells Senior Recognition Award

Mikaela Shaw, a senior majoring in history and economics with a minor in Spanish, will receive the 57th Herman B Wells Senior Recognition Award. Established in 1962 and named for the university's 11th president and, later, university chancellor, the award recognizes excellence in academic growth, achievement, leadership and participation in campus activities.

Elvis J. Stahr Distinguished Senior Awards

Five students will receive the 46th Distinguished Senior Awards. The awards, established by Elvis J. Stahr, 12th president of Indiana University, are based on scholarship, leadership, personality and service.

The recipients are Hena Sara Ahmed, a senior majoring in neuroscience and chemistry with minors in biology and Spanish; Aaron Barnes, a senior majoring in marketing; Justin Kingsolver, a senior majoring in international studies and political science; Alexandra Moxley, a senior majoring in biology; and Ronak Shah, a senior majoring in cognitive science with minors in Spanish and criminal justice.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship

John R. Brown, a senior majoring in mathematics and English, will receive the 2012 Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Established in 2000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this is a highly competitive, full-cost scholarship awarded to outstanding applicants from outside the United Kingdom. Gates Scholars pursue a full-time graduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge.

Barry Goldwater Scholarships

Kent Griffith, a senior majoring in chemistry with a minor in mathematics, and Kimberly Long, a senior majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry, received 2011 Barry Goldwater Scholarships. Also, Miles Edwards, a junior majoring in music and mathematics, earned a 2012 Goldwater Scholarship.

The Goldwater Program was established by Congress to honor longtime Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, who died in 1998. The scholarships provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers by supporting college students planning scientific careers.

Palmer-Brandon Prize in the Humanities

Adelaide Bryan, a senior majoring in anthropology and Near Eastern languages and cultures and minoring in linguistics, and Kyle Fletcher, a senior majoring in philosophy and economics with a minor in music studies, received the 2011 Palmer-Brandon Prize in the Humanities.

The prize supports continued academic, scholarly and creative pursuits of up to two current third-year juniors at IU Bloomington. Those selected to receive this prestigious prize are expected to be in the top 1 percent of undergraduates in their fields in terms of academic achievement, intellectual ability and commitment to the humanities.

William Randolph Hearst Journalism Awards

Senior journalism majors Caitlin Leigh Johnston and Danielle Paquette received the 2011 National Hearst Journalism Award. The award is presented by the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with funding by the Hearst Foundation. It encourages excellence in journalism and journalism education in America's colleges and universities.

Beinecke Brothers Memorial Scholarship

Kasey Greer, a senior majoring in history, received the 2012 Beinecke Scholarship. This program encourages and enables highly motivated students to pursue graduate study in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Since 1975, more than 450 college juniors have received support during graduate study at numerous accredited universities. Each Beinecke Scholar receives $4,000 immediately before entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school.

Gilder Lehrman History Scholarship

Greer also received the 2011 Gilder Lehrman History Scholarship. Sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, this scholarship annually recognizes 15 top college students who travel to New York City to participate in seminars and research activities.

Marshall Scholarships

Madalyn Lee Parnas, a graduate student studying violin performance, and Miles Taylor, a senior in political science and the Individualized Major Program, received 2012 Marshall Scholarships.

Valued at over $60,000, the scholarship pays for graduate study at any university in the United Kingdom. The highly competitive Marshall Scholarship program was founded by the British Parliament in 1953 to commemorate the Marshall Plan.

Truman Scholarship

Alicia Nieves, a junior majoring in political science and human migration studies through the Individualized Major Program, received the 2012 Truman Scholarship.

The scholarship provides up to $30,000 in funding for graduate-level education in fields related to public service. The program is extremely competitive, with the Truman Scholarship Foundation reviewing more than 600 nominations each year. Nieves is one of 54 scholars from 48 states in 2012.

Provost's Awards for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

The award recognizes outstanding undergraduate achievement and originality. It also recognizes the faculty members who mentor the awardees, encouraging and guiding them and engaging them in the learning process.

The recipients and their mentors, listed in parentheses, are Russell Conard (David Crandall), a senior majoring in informatics with a minor in sociology; Karissa McKelvey (Filippo Menczer), a senior majoring in computer science and political science; Kate Sanders (Peter Todd), a senior majoring in English; Juliet Stanton (Robert Botne), a senior majoring in linguistics with a minor in French; Joseph Toth (Norbert Herber), a December 2011 graduate in telecommunications; and Tarlise Townsend (Benjamin Robinson), a senior majoring in Germanic studies with minors in mathematics and biology.

The IU Bloomington Honors Convocation is a formal ceremony in which the leaders of the university and the deans of the schools, all attired in caps and gowns, will be seated on the stage, and brief remarks will be delivered by Interim Provost Lauren Robel and an outstanding student. All Founders Scholars will cross the stage to receive the congratulations of their dean and the provost. After the ceremony, a reception will provide an opportunity for students and their families to visit with deans of the schools.