Truman Foundation Honor Institution
The University of Iowa in 2009
Foundation President Madeleine K. Albright has designated the University of Iowa as a Truman Foundation Honor Institution for 2009. The award recognizes Iowa for “active encouragement of outstanding young people to pursue careers in public service.” It goes to institutions of higher education that enjoy sustained success in helping their students win Truman Scholarships and promoting the principles of public service demonstrated by the foundation’s namesake.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation is the living federal memorial to the country’s thirty-third president. By 2009, the University of Iowa had nominated nine Truman Scholars, including two in the last two years: Meredith DeBoom in 2008 and Rachel Nathanson in 2009. On the right, Federal Judge Roger Hunt from the Board of the Truman Scholarship Foundation joins Honors Director John Nelson in congratulating Rachel Nathanson at the Truman Library in Independence, MO.
University of Iowa nominations are supervised by the Scholarship Director of the University of Iowa Honors Program, Andrea Beloy. The Truman Faculty Representative at the University of Iowa is Honors Director John S. Nelson, Professor of Political Science. He joined Vickie Wilson, faculty representative from the University of Missouri, the other institution honored for 2009, at the Truman Scholars Leadership Weekend. Each May at William Jewell College in Liberty, MO, it readies the new class of scholars for their future years of internship, study, and public service.
Frederick G. Slabach, Executive Secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, will present the University of Iowa with a plaque featuring a likeness of President Truman. This is planned for a ceremony in Iowa City in Fall 2009.