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News Release

Last modified: Monday, August 15, 2005

Elkhart's Bowers named Wells Scholar at IU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUG. 15, 2005

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University President Adam W. Herbert announced today (Aug. 15) that Seth Bowers from Elkhart, Ind., has been selected as a Wells Scholar at IU, one of 19 entering freshmen so honored. He will this fall join more than 300 others who have been named Wells Scholars since 1990.

The scholarship, named in honor of the late IU Chancellor Herman B Wells, ranks among the most competitive and prestigious awards offered by any American university. Since its inception, more than two dozen Wells Scholars have gone on to earn prestigious Rhodes, Truman, Marshall, Soros, Mitchell, Churchill, Fulbright and Goldwater scholarships for advanced study.

Many previous Wells Scholars today contribute to Indiana as residents who are attorneys, doctors, school teachers and business people and even an ordained minister. Others have gone on to clerk for Indiana and U.S. Supreme Court justices, are engaged in international relief and service efforts and are scholars at other renowned educational institutions such as Harvard Business School and Cornell Law School. There are Wells Scholars currently serving in the Armed Forces and other positions in government.

"This program has a spectacular track record for developing future leaders who reflect the example and vision of former IU Chancellor Herman B Wells," Herbert said. "Its impact is reflected in the achievements of past Wells Scholars who have remained in and contributed to the Hoosier state, and by those who represent the university and our state with great distinction both nationally and throughout the world. Since its establishment 16 years ago, IU also has used the Wells Scholars program as a model for other scholarship programs that enable IU to attract to our campuses more of the best students in the state and nation."

To honor Wells, IU created the Wells Scholars Program, which began with fund-raising efforts in 1988 and the appointment of Professor Breon Mitchell as its founding director. In 1990, IU welcomed its first class of Wells Scholars and on June 7, 1992, Wells' 90th birthday, he was officially presented with the Wells Scholars Program, as a gift from his many friends and admirers. After his death in the spring of 2000, this community of talented and dedicated young scholars remains as a permanent legacy of his educational vision.

Wells Scholars receive full tuition and course-related fees, as well as a living stipend for four years of undergraduate study on the Bloomington campus of IU. The program also offers special seminars, an optional year of study abroad, and support for a summer research project or internship. The Wells program emphasizes close interaction with faculty, academic and career advising, opportunities for community service, and contact with distinguished visitors.

Wells Scholars are selected for having demonstrated exceptional qualities of character and leadership and distinction both inside and outside of the classroom.

A National Merit Finalist, Bowers is from Elkhart Central High School. He was selected by the Indiana Department of Education as a state representative in the 2004 U.S. Senate Youth Program in Washington, D.C., where he met U.S. government and world leaders.

In addition, he participated in the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages for High School Students, which awarded him a Prize of Excellence upon completion of his summer studies in St. Brieuc, France. An accomplished musician, he was the three-time principal trumpet of the Indiana All-State Honor Band and a member of the 2004 High School All-Star Jazz Ensemble; and he was a member of his school's marching band, jazz band, symphonic band, symphony orchestra, and pit orchestra.

Active in his school and his community, he served as president of his class, a member of student council, president of the Elkhart Youth City Council, secretary of Rotary Interact club, and a member of the superintendent's student advisory council. He was also a four-year member of Model United Nations and was selected for the National Honor Society. Bowers plans to major in trumpet performance and chemistry.

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