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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, September 25, 2008

Twenty-three students enter IU as 2008 Cox Research Scholars

EDITORS: A complete list of Indiana University Cox Research Scholars follows this story. For more information on this program, contact Heidi Schulz with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at 812-855-5400 or hmschulz@indiana.edu.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 25, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Twenty-three freshmen have begun their academic careers at Indiana University Bloomington as the newest class of Cox Research Scholars.

The Jesse H. and Beulah Chanley Cox Research Scholars Program was established three years ago with a gift of nearly $47 million from the Coxes. Over their lifetimes, the late Jesse and Beulah Cox contributed a combined sum of $92 million to Indiana University, the largest amount IU has ever received for student support, according to the IU Foundation.

The Cox Research Scholars Program features four years of undergraduate research opportunity, during which students and faculty mentors work side-by-side on research projects and creative efforts. The scholarship has a total value of more than $60,000 over four years, providing funds for tuition, fees, books, room and board and also a research stipend.

"As the former dean of the Hutton Honors College, I've had the privilege of watching the Cox Research Scholars Program grow," said Karen Hanson, provost and executive vice president at IU Bloomington. "Because of the Coxes' generous support, exceptional undergraduates have the exciting opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty mentors. These experiences deeply enrich the students' learning and make important contributions to IU's legacy as a world-class research institution."

The Cox Research Scholars Program is administered by IU's Office of the Vice Provost for Research.

"A program of this caliber requires the dedication and hard work of many people, especially IU's faculty," said Sarita Soni, IU's vice provost for research. "The commitment of the faculty to undergraduate education and engaging students in research is remarkable, and it's very exciting to watch the research partnerships between Cox Research Scholars and their mentors thrive as they explore new ideas."

To qualify for the scholarship, students must be an incoming freshman and Indiana resident and rank in the top 5 percent of their high school graduating class.

"In fall 2008, we have enrolled the most academically talented freshman class in the university's history," said Roger Thompson, vice provost for enrollment management at IU Bloomington. "The students recruited through the Cox Research Scholars Program have clearly contributed to our enrollment goals of attracting and retaining a diverse group of top-notch students from the state of Indiana."

Freshmen in the 2008 class of Cox Research Scholars are pursuing majors from business to neuroscience to piano performance. Four of the freshmen entering the program this year are first-generation college students. The CRSP freshman class joins 30 research scholars who are entering their sophomore and junior years at IU Bloomington. "The Cox Research Scholarship and the amazing opportunities associated with the award ultimately finalized my decision to attend Indiana University rather than joining my twin sister at Purdue," said Cox Research Scholar Jennifer Troyer, a junior majoring in biology and chemistry. "The opportunity to do research combined with the financial award was simply too good to turn down."

Faculty mentor Donald Miller, an associate professor in the School of Optometry, calls the Cox Research Scholars Program "refreshing" and praises the program for the freedom it gives students and mentors "to develop and carve out a research project that is of mutual interest."

2008 Research Scholars, their home towns, high schools and majors include:

Kelley School of Business

• Aaron Barnes, freshman, Kokomo, Kokomo High School, marketing
• Bryce Fathauer, freshman, Columbus, Columbus East High School, finance
• Grant Huebner, freshman, Munster, Munster High School, business economics and public policy
• Johanna Lipp, freshman, Zionsville, Carmel High School, management
• Charles Zhang, freshman, Greenwood, Greenwood Community High School, finance

School of Journalism

• Kamilla Benko, freshman, Indianapolis, Bishop Chatard High School
• Thomas Miller, freshman, Fort Wayne, South Side High School

College of Arts and Sciences

• MacKenzie Austgen, freshman, Granger, Penn High School, exploratory
• James Byers III, freshman, Indianapolis, Lawrence North High School, neuroscience
• Katelyn Colvin, freshman, Bloomington, Bloomington North High School, French
• Susan Keen, freshman, Indianapolis, Carmel High School, exploratory/ pre-med
• Kim Long, freshman, Munster, Munster High School, biology
• William McCarthy, freshman, Indianapolis, Lawrence Central High School, physics
• Rebecca Rice, freshman, Bristol, Indiana Academy, biology
• Alyssia Robinson, freshman, Fort Wayne, Nelson Snider High School, biology
• Kaitlin Roth, freshman, Indianapolis, North Central High School, biology
• Aaron Ryan, freshman, Lawrenceburg, Indiana Academy, anthropology
• Kate Sanders, freshman, Valparaiso, Valparaiso High School, cognitive science
• Clay Spencer, freshman, Greencastle, Greencastle High School, exploratory
• Rebecca Stoops, freshman, Bloomington, Bloomington North High School, international studies
• Scott Williamson, freshman, Carmel, Carmel High School, history
• Jennifer Yu, freshman, Zionsville, Zionsville Community High School, human biology

Jacobs School of Music

• Trevor Leslie, freshman, Indianapolis, North Central High School, piano BSOF

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