St. Clair Named 2005 Truman Scholar

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Catherine St. Clair, a junior Bodenhamer Fellow from Little Rock, Ark., joins 74 other students nationwide as the 2005 class of Truman Scholars. St. Clair is majoring in international business with a marketing emphasis in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. She is also pursuing a degree in French and is currently studying abroad in LeMans, France.

“I had the pleasure of contacting Catherine to inform her of her selection as a 2005 Truman Scholar,” said Chancellor John A. White. “She is a wonderful representative for the University of Arkansas — as a Truman Scholar, as a Bodenhamer Fellow and as a student currently studying abroad. Her academic achievements are quite noteworthy. She is very deserving of this honor; it will serve her well in her graduate pursuits.”

In addition to being selected as a 2005 Truman Scholar, St. Clair is National Merit Scholar, a member of the Honors College and a Four-Year Honors Scholar in the Walton College.  She has been inducted into Golden Key and the National French Honors Society.

As a freshman, St. Clair was a member of the Pomfret Honors Quarters Hall Senate, serving as chair of the faculty interaction committee. She was an instrumental part of a student/faculty quiz bowl tournament that resulted in participation by more than 200 students and faculty members and the committee’s participation in the Student Day of Caring in the spring of 2003.

“Everyone on the campus and in the community enjoys working with Catherine St. Clair,” said Suzanne McCray, associate dean of the Honors College. “She is astute, well-informed, articulate, dedicated and funny. Catherine is a print junky and loves politics, and she has an avid interest in the workings of nonprofits. I am sure this passion was very attractive to the Truman Foundation. She will thrive in graduate school and will always be an agent for sustainable change.”

 “I eventually plan to attend the University of Indiana at Bloomington to pursue a Master's Degree in Public Affairs (M.P.A.), as the program is not only academically oriented, but also geared specifically toward policy, action, and direct experience,” St. Clair said. “My career goals are to work either for a nonprofit that specializes in international aid and development, such as ACCION or the Red Cross, or for a humanitarian nonprofit with an international scope. The Truman Scholarship will help me tremendously in realizing these goals.”

The 75 Truman Scholars were selected from among 602 candidates nominated by 299 colleges and universities. Each scholarship provides $30,000 to be used toward graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to the 33rd president. The foundation awards scholarships for college students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public service. The activities of the foundation are supported by a special trust fund in the U.S. Treasury. There have been 2,405 Truman Scholars elected since the first awards were made in 1977.

St. Clair and the other Truman Scholars will gather on May 16 for a week-long leadership development program at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. The scholars will receive their awards in a special ceremony at the Truman Library in Independence, Mo., on May 22.

Fifteen Truman faculty representatives from across the country will also be honored at the ceremony, including U of A Truman representative and Honors College Associate Dean Suzanne McCray.