UW-Madison recognized by Truman Foundation

For a national scholarship that gives out 75 awards or less each year, Truman Foundation Executive Secretary Frederick Slabach says it is "rare" for a single university to have two scholars in the same year.

That being said, when the University of Wisconsin–Madison did it earlier this year, he wasn’t exactly surprised.

"We clearly get the sense from everything we know about the University of Wisconsin that there is a culture on campus that values public service, and the university has encouraged individuals with an interest to pursue it," he says.

It was that culture that prompted the Truman Foundation to name UW–Madison as one of four "honor institutions" for the academic year. Other schools named as honor institutions for 2007-2008 were Michigan State University, the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia.

The Truman Scholarship, named after former president Harry S. Truman, awards about 75 college juniors with $30,000 for graduate study. Beyond that, the foundation also provides students with the opportunity to network with current and former scholars during a Leadership Week in May after scholarship winners are announced, and during the summer after graduation, when the Foundation runs a Summer Institute that helps scholars find and finance a summer internship in Washington, D.C.

The Truman Foundation began naming "honor institutions" in 1996, and the foundation has honored between two and five schools each year since as a way of recognizing institutions who have successfully promoted the scholarship as well as the value of public service.

"What we hope that this recognition does is encourage colleges and universities to continue to put in the effort that we know it takes to participate in this way in the scholarship," Slabach says. "It’s really hard – it takes a lot of time and effort on the part of faculty and staff who are involved, and it’s really a recognition and hopefully some encouragement for them to keep up the good work."

While the foundation has chosen three UW–Madison students as scholarship recipients in the past two years, Slabach said the award was given to the university for its longtime commitment to public service and overall success in promoting the Truman Scholarship on campus. Since the scholarship’s inception in 1977, he says, UW–Madison students have won 15 times, a "highly unusual and really remarkable success rate."

This success, Slabach says, usually comes from an "extremely rigorous" internal application process that ensures the school offers the best candidates and continues to prepare them along the way. UW–Madison, as well as many other colleges and universities who nominate students for the Truman Scholarship, requires students who are interested in being nominated to complete the scholarship application well before the foundation’s February deadline. Faculty and staff serve on a campus committee that reviews applications, interviews top candidates and nominates four to compete for the national award.

After the four students are chosen, the campus committee continues to help the candidates by giving feedback on their application essays, as well as by conducting mock interviews with them, says Julie Stubbs, director of the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office, which administers the campus competition.

UW-Madison’s 2007 Truman Scholars, Max Bruner and Adam Schmidt, say they appreciated the university’s help during what can be a challenging application process. The application requires that candidates complete eight short essays and a policy proposal relating to a problem in which they are interested.

Despite the difficulty of the application process, Bruner, a senior, says completing it helped him focus his interests and think about career goals.

"The process was probably one of the more positive things just because of how grueling it was, and then what it made me do and made me think about," he says. "I had to think about where I was going, and then tie it all together with that kind of direction, which is tough for a lot of people in college."

Schmidt, also a senior, adds that the university helps students become Truman Scholars indirectly as well, by providing abundant opportunities – from service learning courses to more than 700 student organizations – for getting into public service as a student.

"There’s something to be said for the kind of student that comes here. You don’t necessarily have to be a political activist, you don’t need to carry a sign and a bullhorn up to Bascom Hill, but people here, they care about each other, about the community, and the university fosters that kind of environment, as well," Schmidt says.

Campus applications for this year are due November 15, and the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office will be holding two information sessions, one on October 17 and one on November 5 for freshmen and sophomores. In November, Slabach as well as Bruner and Schmidt will be present to answer questions, Stubbs says.

"This is a great chance for students to hear about the Truman Scholarship from a foundation representative and the scholars themselves," Stubbs says. "Students will also learn about some of the many opportunities to get involved on campus and in the community."