From the May 2014 Desktop News | Five College of Arts and Sciences students recently won prestigious national awards, helping UA to rank once again among the top universities with students selected. Of the eight UA students winning awards, two students from the College were named Goldwater Scholars, two were named Hollings Scholars, and one was named a Truman Scholar.

Brian Goodell, a chemical engineering and physics major from Plattsburgh, N.Y., and Lynda Truong, a chemistry major from Grand Prairie, Tex., were among the 282 students selected as Goldwater Scholars for 2014-2015. Given by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, these one- and two-year scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to $7,500 a year. Students were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by colleges and universities nationwide.

Jason Arterburn, a junior from Madison, Ala., studying economics and interdisciplinary studies in New College, was named a Truman Scholar for 2014. Given by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, students were chosen on the basis of academic success and leadership, as well as their likelihood of becoming public service leaders. Arterburn will receive up to $30,000 for graduate study and was one of 59 students chosen for the award this year out of 655 nominees.

Nicole Kernahan, a sophomore from Slidell, La., majoring in marine science-biology, and Zoe Nichols, a sophomore from Tuscaloosa majoring in marine science-biology, received Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarships from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 2014-2016. The scholarship, which was given to 106 students this year, provides $8,000 per year for full-time study during the junior and senior years and $6,500 for a 10-week internship at NOAA or an NOAA-approved facility during the summer between the junior and senior years.

UA ranks among the top four universities in the United States this year in the number of Hollings Scholarships awarded. For the eight-year period from 2007 to 2014, UA ranks second in the United States for the number of students named Goldwater Scholars. UA is tied with Arizona State University with 21 scholars during that period and just one behind Harvard University, which had 22 scholars. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one behind UA and ASU with 20.

Thirty-nine UA students have been named Goldwater Scholars in the last 25 years, including two in 2013. The University of Alabama has produced a total of 15 Rhodes Scholars, 13 Truman Scholars and numerous Hollings Scholars.