Ohio Wesleyan Student Awarded National Goldwater Scholarship
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University student Mary Ann Lee of Decatur, Ga., has been named a 2013-2014 Goldwater Scholar by the national Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
Lee, a zoology and psychology double major, is one of 271 college students selected to receive a 2013-2014 Goldwater Scholarship. She was chosen from a field of more than 1,100 mathematics, science, and engineering students nominated for the honor. The one- and two-year Goldwater Scholarships provide up to $7,500 a year for college costs.
After she graduates from Ohio Wesleyan, Lee plans to pursue a doctoral degree in animal behavior and marine biology. Ultimately, she hopes to research marine megafauna and teach at university level.
For her Goldwater Scholar research paper, Lee outlined work she completed on the vocalizations of pilot whales with Douglas Nowacek, Ph.D., of the Duke University Marine Lab. “We were interested in looking at different types of vocalizations and what they mean, including clicks and whistles,” Lee said.
Nowacek, a 1991 Ohio Wesleyan graduate, is a faculty member of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, Division of Marine & Science Conservation.
An Ohio Wesleyan student paired with an alumnus-researcher also earned a Goldwater Scholarship in 2012-2013. Then-junior Bradley Turnwald of Ottoville, Ohio, was named a Goldwater Scholar for his work with Herbert L. DuPont, M.D., director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas School of Public Health.
“Ohio Wesleyan is proud to have such accomplished students and graduates,” said President Rock Jones, Ph.D. “Having back-to-back Goldwater Scholars who earned their awards by working with OWU alumni speaks to the level of mentoring and collaboration that occurs here. Such support is invaluable. These prestigious awards also reflect the caliber of our science and mathematics faculty and our rigorous curriculum.”
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona, who served in the U.S. Senate for 30 years.
The Foundation seeks to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields. The Goldwater Scholarship is considered the premier undergraduate award of its type.
Since 1989, the Goldwater Foundation has awarded more than 6,550 scholarships worth $40 million. Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 80 Rhodes Scholarships, 118 Marshall Awards, 110 Churchill Scholarships, and numerous other distinguished fellowships.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.