Undergraduate receives prestigious national scholarship

It’s not every day that Provost Patrick Farrell drops in on the class Introduction to Statistical Methods to make an announcement.

But that’s what happened Monday morning (March 24), when Farrell visited the class of Jeffrey Wright, a senior from Montello, Wis., to inform him that he has been named the recipient of a prestigious Truman Scholarship.

Wright is the 16th UW–Madison student to win a Truman Scholarship since 1975, and the fourth in three years. The scholarship provides $30,000 for graduate study leading to a career in government or elsewhere in public service.

Wright, who is double-majoring in political science and international studies and pursuing comprehensive honors, has a long record of public service and leadership.

“I’m greatly honored to represent the university as a scholarship recipient,” Wright says. “The announcement during my statistics class on Monday morning came as an overwhelming surprise. The exciting news brought a climactic end to what was a lengthy application process.”

In addition to his academic activities, Wright has served as an intern for Gov. Jim Doyle, Sen. Russ Feingold and the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch. Currently he is a research assistant for Human Rights Watch and the UW–Madison Transitional Justice Database Project. A longtime member of the Associated Students of Madison (ASM), in 2005 he served as Plan 2008 campaign chair, helping the university meet its diversity goals. He now chairs the ASM Shared Governance Committee, ensuring student representation on committees that decide university policy and procedures.

After graduating in December, Wright plans to pursue a joint law and master of public policy degree and hopes to enter the field of human rights law and eventually work in government or the nonprofit sector.

UW-Madison has become a hotbed for Truman awards, says Julie Stubbs, director of the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office, which administers the campus competition. The Truman Foundation named UW–Madison as one of four “honor institutions” for the current academic year.

“I think we can attribute much of UW–Madison’s success with the Truman Scholarship to students’ commitment to improving their community, whether that’s on campus or abroad,” Wright says. “Wisconsin has maintained a strong tradition of volunteerism and public service, one I will only grow over time as the campus community continues to embrace the Wisconsin Idea.”

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975. Each year, U.S. colleges and universities nominate more than 600 candidates, from which 65-75 scholars are selected on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability and likelihood of “making a difference.”

The application process is arduous and includes an interview with a panel including a university president, a federal judge, a distinguished public servant and a past Truman Scholarship winner.