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UO students Nayantora Arora, Colleen Uzoekwe, and Lucy Roberts (left to right) were all named as finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship this year.
The Office of Distinguished Scholarships (ODS) delivers centralized and comprehensive advising and mentorship to current students and recent alumni exploring and pursuing highly competitive national and international awards and fellowships.
ODS manages the annual institutional timeline and process for distinguished scholarships applications and endorsements, convenes internal review committees for awards requiring institutional endorsements, and serves as the institutional representative for a wide variety of awards.
ODS fosters a robust distinguished scholarships alumni and faculty community for networking, advising, and mentorship purposes. This community supports students in achieving their academic and professional goals, promotes equity, and prepares them for experiential learning.
Rhodes Scholarship
Three UO students were selected this year as finalists for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, the oldest international fellowship award in the world. This is believed to be the first time in the university’s history that the full slate of institutional endorsees were chosen as finalists. Nayantara Arora, a senior majoring in neuroscience, was later selected as a Rhodes scholar.
President Karl Scholz hosted a Rhodes celebration event at McMorran House for Arora, the two other finalists, Colleen Uzoekwe, a senior majoring in human physiology, and Lucy Roberts, a master’s student in geography, along with their faculty mentors and families.
Strategic Collaborations
- A fundraising campaign for the Undergraduate Research and Distinguished Scholarships Impact Fund helped raise to nearly $30,000 from more than 40 donors. These funds helped cover travel costs for scholarship finalists attending interviews in Seattle this year. The URDS Impact Fund was also selected as a featured Student Success Fund for the Oregon 150 Campaign.
- ODS moved to formalize its collaboration with over 20 alumni and faculty to serve on distinguished scholarship endorsement committees, participate in mock interviews, and host individual advising sessions with students. The agreement will strengthen the evaluation and institutional endorsement process for these awards.
- The office partnered with Division of Student Services and Enrollment Management to host the inaugural Homecoming Distinguished Scholarships Reception where 30 distinguished scholarship alumni and current recipients connected with over 275 undergraduate students and families, to foster awareness and engagement regarding distinguished scholarships.
Expanding Reach and New Staff
ODS expanded its outreach efforts to increase student participation, including participation in the Stamps Scholars Retreat, the Presidential Scholars Reception, and the CMAE New Student Fall Retreat.
The office also hired a new distinguished scholarships consultant, Jeff Julum, who is a UO alum and Rhodes Scholar, who has experience working for the Rhodes Trust as an interviewer.
Phi Beta Kappa
Charlie Petrik (Global Studies and Geography, Class of 2025) was awarded the “Key into Public Service” scholarship by Phi Beta Kappa.
The UO’s Alpha of Oregon chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest in the state of Oregon and celebrated its centennial in 2023. As the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor, PBK has advocated for the value and benefits of liberal arts and sciences education and championed freedom of thought.
The Alpha of Oregon chapter faculty committee annually identifies and invites qualified juniors and seniors for induction into the society who merit election, in part, through the exceptional multidisciplinary breadth and rigor of academic achievement. This year, 211 UO students were inducted into PBK.
The chapter also assisted UO junior Charlie Petrik in his successful application for the PBK Society’s Key into Public Service Scholarship. He is one of 20 recipients out of a national pool of more than 900 applicants to receive the $5,000 scholarship.