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Last modified: Thursday, September 18, 2008

Largest class of Presidential Scholars enrolled on six IU campuses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Attending six Indiana University campuses this fall are 70 Herbert Presidential Scholars, the largest group in the brief history of a program designed to bring Indiana's brightest high school students to IU and, hopefully, encourage them to stay in the state after graduation. There are 54 Presidential Scholars enrolled at IU Bloomington, 11 at IUPUI, two at IU South Bend and one each at IU Northwest, IU East and IU Southeast.

"The Herbert Presidential Scholars program is one of several Indiana University has put in place to attract a greater and greater number of Indiana's best and brightest high school graduates," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. "Ultimately, it is our hope that these extremely capable young people will put their skills and knowledge to work in the state of Indiana upon graduation, helping to build a stronger Hoosier economy. Our most grateful aknowledgement goes to the Lilly Endowment for its generosity in funding this visionary program."

Now in its fourth year, this scholarship program is funded by a $10 million grant from the Lilly Foundation. The 2005 inaugural class consisted of 33 students and the 2006 class included 60 scholars. Last year's class numbered 67.

Originally established as the Hoosier Presidential Scholarship for outstanding students in Indiana high schools, the program was founded by IU President Emeritus Adam W. Herbert. The Trustees of Indiana University renamed the program in 2007 in honor of him.

Criteria for selection include class rank, grade point average, SAT I or ACT test scores and strength of high school curriculum. Also considered are each student's record of activities and leadership positions, record of community service, personal statement and a recommendation from a high school teacher, guidance counselor or community member. Unlike IU's other competitive scholarship programs, such as the Wells and Kelley Scholars, eligibility for Herbert Presidential Scholarships is limited to Indiana residents. Preference is given to National Merit Scholarship qualifiers.

This year's Herbert Presidential Scholarship freshman class has an average grade point average exceeding 4.0 (because of AP and honors classes), and the average SAT composite score was 1,347. Nearly every scholar ranked in the top 5 percent of his or her high school class. Minority students comprise one third of the class.

Coming from all parts of the state, these freshmen will receive renewable scholarships ranging from $6,000 to $12,000 a year for four years, plus a new laptop computer. In their junior or senior year, the students also will receive an additional $1,000 award toward the cost of a semester of international study. Fifteen of the new Presidential Scholars are from Indianapolis, eight come from Carmel, five from Fort Wayne, four from Evansville, three from Bloomington and two each from South Bend, Valparaiso, Schererville and Lafayette.

The investment provides roughly $500,000 a year in interest to support the program. From this fund, scholarship grants ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 are awarded to each participant. The student's campus must match the award on a two-for-one basis, resulting in a total value of $6,000 to $12,000 per student. As a result, each award is campus-specific and non-transferable to another IU campus. Each campus nominates students for the award from its applicant pool.

High school seniors who are interested in competing for next year's Herbert Presidential Scholarships should be sure their enrollment application is completed and turned in this fall. Final nominations from IU campuses for the 2009 call of Herbert Presidential Scholars are due on Jan. 15 with letters from the president sent by the first of February.

Herbert Presidential Scholars and their campuses for 2008:

IU Bloomington:

Kelsey Adams, La Porte; Alvita Akiboh, Indianapolis; Sasha Bannister, Greenfield; Philip Bessette, Crown Point; Ben-Ari Boukai, Indianapolis; Michaela Brown, Carmel; Joshua Bruce, Remington; Amanda Campos, Valparaiso; Samantha Capshew, Bloomington; Keiara Carr, Fort Wayne; Megan Connor, Bloomington; Veejay Costello, South Bend; Aron Frank, West Lafayette; Kyle Garza, Greenwood; Kadeem Goddard, Indianapolis; Kathara Green, Carmel; Ian Hansen, Indianapolis; Mitchell Harrison, Evansville; Connor Hofmeister, Indianapolis; Amanda Horcher, Indianapolis; Kara Ingelhart, Cedar Lake; Isaiah Innis, Bloomington; Sean Kelty, Bremen; Blake Koness, Carmel; Jana Kovich, Schererville; David Linard, Indianapolis; Jordan Longstreth, Valparaiso; Sherry Lu, Carmel; Domonitres Martin, Fort Wayne; Christopher Merchun, Carmel; Joseph Miller, Indianapolis; Brian Mockabee, Indianapolis; Claire Oppy, Lafayette; Melissa Orizondo, Lafayette; Kristin Perry, Avon; Andrew Pimentel, Carmel; Jonathan Repka, Fort Wayne; Christina Robinson, Indianapolis; Ronak Shah, Indianapolis; Allison Smith, Shelbyville; Benjamin Smith, Evansville; Nicholas Stoffregen, Munster; Michelle Sybert, Evansville; Joel Tucker, Indianapolis; Kyleigh Turk, Noblesville; Nancy Tyree, Plymouth; Elizabeth Uduehi, Evansville; Crystal Velez, Hobart; Dale Vollenweider, Fort Wayne; Eric Weiner, Fort Wayne; Brittany Welsh, Indianapolis; Caitlin Williams, Carmel; Sara Woolbright, Scottsburg; and Stephanie Yingst, New Washington.

IUPUI:

Brett Barnes, Marion; Michael Dunn, Ellettsville; Rachel Gasaway, Trail Creek; Tyler Goldsberry, Schererville; Joshua Horton, Jasonville; Stephen Hughes, Danville; Jillian Noblet, Indianapolis; Kalyse Reimbold, Carmel; Elise Renollet, Indianapolis; Kevin Sempsrott, Arlington; and Jeremy Wuestefeld, Sunman.

IU South Bend:

Jenna Downs, Mishawaka, and Kaytlyn Hab, South Bend.

IU East:

Matthew Garringer, Farmland.

IU Northwest:

Devin Boylan, Portage.

IU Southeast:

Sarah Yeager, Georgetown.