Scholars Wall of Fame

Students, parents, family members, faculty and administrators gathered in the Merrill-Cazier Library to celebrate the legacy of scholarship at Utah State University. The occasion was the rededication of the “Scholars Wall of Fame.” The names of three Goldwater Scholars were added to the wall, Logan McKenna, Heidi Wheelwright and Keith Warnick. The prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholars are honored for their research in science and are selected on the basis of academic merit.

Executive Vice President and Provost Raymond T. Coward addressed the gathering, welcoming all.

 

“Two years ago, on April 1, the plaques you see before you were installed in the Merrill Library to honor Utah State students who have won prestigious national and international scholarships and fellowships,” Coward said. “We were joined that day by Lara Anderson who had been named both a Rhodes and a Marshall fellow, and by James Butcher, a Rhodes Scholar from 1982.”

 

The university’s list of Rhodes Scholars goes back to the early days of the university. The first was named in 1921. Over the years USU’s students have consistently won prestigious awards, including Phi Kappa Phi honorees. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awards $380,000 annually in national fellowships for first-year graduate study. Since 1980, 18 Utah State University nominees have won national fellowships, and in the last 11 years, Utah State’s nominee has been a national fellowship winner every year. Only 60 students in the nation are chosen for this honor.

 

“In addition we have Fulbright Scholars, Gilman Scholars and National Security Education Program Scholars who win fellowships for study abroad,” Coward said. “This past year we also added our first plaque for Udall Scholars. Josh Hirschi, an environmental engineering major, has been named honorable mention in both of the last two years.”

 

This year’s field of Goldwater Scholar nominees included 1,081 mathematics, science and engineering students nationwide. The Goldwater organization awarded 323 scholarships for the 2006-07 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from the United States. The one and two year scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

 

USU’s recipient Logan McKenna is an electrical engineering major, and Heidi Wheelwright is a physics major. Keith Warnick, a physics major, was awarded an honorable mention.

 

A new plaque was added to the Scholars Wall of Fame during the rededication ceremony for the James Madison Memorial Fellowship. USU’s first recipient is Julie Major, a USU political science and history graduate who teaches at Mountain Crest High School. She plans to begin work on a master’s degree in history at USU, with an emphasis on constitutional studies and early America.

 

The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 for the purpose of improving teaching about the United States Constitution in secondary schools.

 

“We are here today to honor a legacy of scholarship and show that hard work, scholarship and service never go out of style,” Coward said. “In honoring these students who have worked hard, we also recognize their faculty mentors who have guided them to these successes.”

 

Provost Coward thanked Honors Director Christie Fox for her efforts supporting students in the scholarship application process, as well as Vice Provost Linda Wolcott and the library for hosting the Wall of Fame.

 

“The Wall of Fame is a tribute to a legacy of stellar Utah State students,” Coward concluded.