A University student and alumnus were awarded Rhodes Scholarships Saturday evening, marking the first time in University history that two representatives from the University were awarded the scholarship in the same year.
Fourth-year College student Meghan Sullivan and Justin Mutter, who graduated in 2003, will travel to England's Oxford University in October 2005 to study philosophy and theology, respectively -- an estimated $35,000 per year value.
Sullivan attributed some of her success to opportunities for leadership and undergraduate research at the University, as well as faculty mentors like Philosophy Prof. Trenton Merricks and Politics Prof. Colin Bird.
"I am just numb," Sullivan said. "This is the biggest thing that has ever happened to me."
According to Nicole Hurd, director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, candidates for the scholarship began their application process in September through the Center. The University endorsed six students to be interviewed by selection committees at the state level. Finalists were then interviewed by committees in eight regions of the United States. There were four Rhodes Scholarships awarded in each district. Sullivan was a winner in District III, and Mutters was a winner in District IV.
According to Mutter, the interview process was both exhausting and exciting because he was given the opportunity to interact with interviewers and candidates.
"You get to meet a lot of remarkable people," Mutter said. "For me, they were from all over Tennessee and the Southeast."
After their final interviews on Saturday, both Sullivan and Mutters called Hurd, who had overseen and met regularly with Rhodes Scholarship candidates from the University.
"They both told me they had done their best and had had lot of fun, so I knew something exciting was going to happen," Hurd said. "I just think it is a testament to how strong our students are -- it was time for two students to get this."
The 32 scholarship winners were chosen from a pool of 904 applicants endorsed by 341 colleges and universities. The applicants were selected on the basis of criteria set forth by the Will of Cecil Rhodes, including academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor.
"U.Va. students are good Rhode candidates because U.Va. students embody those ideals so well," Hurd said.
Sullivan and Mutter bring the total of Rhodes scholarship recipients from the University to 45, which include two current University professors, Politics Prof. Larry Sabato and English Prof. Jahan Ramazani.
Mutter said he plans to use the education he receives from Oxford to go into public service and examine issues of poverty and disease.
"I hope that in taking on these responsibilities I can represent those communities that I have been a part of, including U.Va. and Haiti," Mutter said. "This is a reflection of just how wonderful the U.Va. community is."
More than 1,800 Rhodes Scholars are living in parts of the U.S., and 3,045 have been awarded the scholarship since the first class of scholars entered Oxford in 1904. Since women were first eligible in 1976, 356 have received the scholarship.
Sullivan said she plans to become a philosophy professor after completing her Oxford studies.
"I am very proud to be going into the philosophy field where women are a minority," Sullivan said. "It will open a lot of doors."
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