Richard G. Lugar Symposium for Tomorrow’s Leaders to award 10 new scholarships
The University of Indianapolis’ Lugar Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders announced earlier this month that high school students who attend the annual Richard G. Lugar Symposium for Tomorrow’s Leaders will now have the opportunity to receive a $10,000 scholarship.
The program will award 10 students $10,000 each. The first scholarships will be given out by February 2012. Because they are UIndy scholarships, students would be required to apply to UIndy their senior year of high school and attend the university as freshmen in order to keep the award.
The committee that chooses which students will receive the scholarships consists of Associate Director of Admissions and Director of the Lugar Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders Lara Mann, Director of Admissions Ron Wilks and Director of Financial Aid Linda Handy.
According to Mann, the committee will focus on academic achievements when deciding to whom to give the scholarships.
Because they are not need-based scholarships, economic background will not be a factor.
“We will take anyone who has applied [to UIndy] by Jan. 15 [2012] , who belongs to that symposium group, and we’ll make decisions based upon the rigor of their high school class schedule, GPA, scores, rank — that kind of thing,” Mann said. “The application also asks questions about activities in school.”
The chosen students will be notified that they have received the scholarships by the following February, and Mann hopes that it will be a good incentive for them to attend UIndy.
“These are the cream of the crop,” Mann said. “These are some amazing students, both on an academic level and a leadership level. We want these students here for several reasons. It would increase the academic profile of our class. And they’re just good students. They’re proven leaders and have already been recognized as leaders in their community.”
Every Indiana high school is invited to choose two juniors to attend the symposium. Typically, 400 to 500 students attend each year.
“The students chosen exhibit tendencies to be a strong leader,” Mann said.
UIndy sophomore Jack Cummings attended the symposium when he was a junior in high school.
“My experience at the symposium was really what caused me to check out the school and apply,” Cummings said. “I think the new scholarship program is fantastic. A lot of the students are at the point when they’re trying to figure out how they’re going to afford college. This will give them the opportunity to push their ideas further in higher education.”
The Lugar Center was formed in 2007 to provide a permanent home for the symposium, which has been a part of UIndy for 34 years.
“Sen. Lugar was a visiting professor here, in between his mayoral job and running for the Senate,” Mann said. “He won the Senate race and surprised all of his students for showing up to his lecture at 8 a.m. the next morning. Two years into his Senate term, he founded the symposium and it’s been here since 1977.”
Sen. Richard Lugar discusses his stance and takes questions regarding governmental issues at the 34th annual Richard G. Lugar Symposium held on Dec. 11. Photo by Sarah Haefner.
The symposium is a day of leadership-oriented activities. Senator Lugar attends the event whenever possible.
This year, he acted as the keynote speaker and took questions from students after his speech. A question and answer session for adults who accompanied the students to the event was also held. He also took pictures with students from each county.
In the afternoon, students attended sessions concerning current events, politics and leadership. Former Miss America and UIndy student Katie Stam also attended as the guest speaker.
The 2010 symposium took place on Dec. 11.
