Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2002-03-22

Samford University junior James T. Gibson of Butler has been named a Truman Scholar by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. He is one of 64 Truman scholars selected nationwide from some 600 applications.

Gibson, a history and political science double major, will receive a $30,000 scholarship for his last year of undergraduate school and two years of graduate work. He is the only student from Alabama to be named a 2002 Truman Scholar.

Truman Scholars are selected on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability and the likelihood of making a difference. They must be committed to careers in government or the not-for-profit sector. The foundation typically selects one scholar from each state and several at-large scholars from each region.

Gibson, a Dean's List student, is the son of Donald R. and Mary Ruth Gibson of Butler.

At Samford, he is a member of the student government senate, Amnesty International, Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform and several honor societies. He is a former staff writer for the Samford Crimson newspaper, founder and president of Samford College Democrats, vice president of the Pre-Law Society and captain of the Samford mock trial team.

The Truman Scholars program is the federal memorial to the nation's 33rd president.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.