November 25, 2004 | Meghan E. Sullivan, the Albert Dorset Penick Jefferson Scholar, fourth-year student and head of the Honor Committee, learned November 20 that she was among 32 recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the nation's most prestigious academic honors.

Sullivan was chosen from among 904 applicants nationwide and will enter the University of Oxford in England in October 2005.

Sullivan becomes the fourth Jefferson Scholar to win a Rhodes Scholarship. Prior Jefferson Scholar recipients were Jeff Manns ’98, currently a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics at Harvard Law School; Zayde Antrim ’95, a Ph.D. candidate in History at Harvard University; and Brad Braxton ’91, associate professor of homiletics and New Testament at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.

“Meghan exemplifies excellence in the Jefferson Scholars Foundation’s selection criteria of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship,” said James H. Wright, executive director of the Foundation. “We could not be more proud of her. She has made an extraordinary impact on the University and will make a similar impact during her time at Oxford.”

“I’m particularly proud that Meghan won,” said Nicole Hurd, director of U.Va.’s Center for Undergraduate Excellence, which advises students about national and international competitions such as the Rhodes. “Not only does she epitomize the high caliber of student who attends U.Va., but she also demonstrates the rewards that can come to students who take full advantage of the many academic and research opportunities available to them at U.Va. Meghan, for example, conducted research in Belfast, Ireland, on one of two Harrison fellowships she received.”

In addition to her Honor Committee work and undergraduate research, Sullivan is majoring in politics and philosophy and serves as a volunteer for Legal Aid and Restorative Justice. She has worked with the Madison House tutoring program for migrant workers and served as a senior resident in the Residence Staff program.

Sullivan has received the Robert Kent Gooch Scholarship, two David A. Harrison III Undergraduate Research Awards, the Edgar F. Shannon Scholarship, and is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society and the Raven Society. She is an Echols Scholar.

As a seriously committed philosophy student, she plans to pursue a B.Phil. in philosophy at Oxford. Sullivan is from Greensboro, N.C.

Rhodes Scholarships provide two or three years of study at Oxford. They are the oldest of the international study awards available to American students, and were created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, British philanthropist and colonial pioneer. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor. These basic characteristics are directed at fulfilling Rhodes's hopes that the scholars bearing his name would make an effective and positive contribution throughout the world. The first class of American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904.

The monetary value of the Rhodes Scholarship varies depending on the academic field being studied, the degree pursued (bachelor’s, master's, doctoral) and the Oxford college chosen. The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, provides a stipend to cover necessary expenses while in residence in Oxford and during vacations, and transportation to and from England. The total value averages approximately $35,000 per year.