Two Duke Seniors Named Rhodes Scholars
Duke TodayDURHAM, NC - Duke University seniors Laura Roberts of Dallas and John “Jay” Ruckelshaus of Indianapolis were among the 32 recipients selected this weekend for prestigious Rhodes Scholarships.
Roberts is a Global Human Rights Scholar and Lowell Aptman Prize finalist. Ruckelshaus is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and Angier B. Duke Scholar. They were chosen from among 869 applicants at 316 colleges and universities throughout the country, and are the 44th and 45th students in Duke's history to receive a Rhodes Scholarship. The scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England.
"For decades, the Rhodes Scholarship has been the highest honor awarded to undergraduates -- a recognition of extraordinary accomplishment and outstanding promise for the future," said Duke President Richard H. Brodhead. "I am delighted that two Duke students have been chosen as Rhodes Scholars this year. Laura Roberts and Jay Ruckelshaus have immersed themselves in everything Duke has to offer and have made great contributions to this university. I know they will be exemplary Rhodes Scholars.”
Roberts, a history major with a double minor in religion and political science, has been inducted into Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and the Order of Omega Honor Society. Her academic work has focused on women, religion and politics in the Reformation, resulting in an article, “The Spiritual Singularity of Syon Abbey,” that was published in the Cornell Historical Society journal “Ezra’s Archives” this spring. She is continuing her research of women’s religious roles in the English Reformation for an honors thesis.
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