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IU Bloomington student Morgan Mohr named Rhodes Scholar

• Nov. 21, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Morgan Mohr, a senior at Indiana University Bloomington studying political science, history and feminist policy, has been named a 2017 Rhodes Scholar. She is one of 32 U.S. college students, and the only student from a Big Ten university, to receive the prestigious academic award.

Mohr, a straight-A student who will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from IU Bloomington in May 2017, will study comparative social policy at Oxford University in England with the scholarship. She intends to pursue a career in law and public policy.

An avid campaigner for progressive issues and social justice, Mohr has taken active and responsible roles with political campaigns -- including Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for president -- interned with government offices and founded campus groups to combat injustice.

"Morgan is a truly outstanding student and a remarkable civic leader," Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie said. "She combines a fundamentally moral vision of a compassionate and just world with a pragmatic optimism that people working together can achieve that vision. Her efforts to improve university policies and promote justice and equality have been exemplary. We at Indiana University are enormously proud that she has been named a Rhodes Scholar."

The 2017 U.S. Rhodes Scholars were announced Sunday by the Rhodes Trust. The scholarships cover all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England and may allow funding in some instances for four years.

Mohr will graduate in spring 2017 with majors in feminist policy through the Individualized Major Program and in political science and history, all in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has a 3.97 grade-point average and serves on the Board of Aeons, a panel of student leaders that advises the university president on policies affecting students.

The valedictorian of the Class of 2013 at Kokomo High School in Indiana, she came to IU Bloomington as a Wells Scholar, one of 20 winners of the university's most prestigious and competitive scholarship.

"I am honored and genuinely humbled to receive the Rhodes scholarship," Mohr said. "Indiana University has been an infinitely rich place for me to learn, grow and work. Because of this, I will always be indebted to the Wells Scholars Program for bringing me here and for contributing profoundly to my development.

"I also want to thank my professors, peers and fellow activists for the exceptional work they do every day and for enabling me to join their communities," she said. "I look forward to my two years of study at Oxford, but especially to tackling the challenges beyond."

Mohr has worked on a wide array of campaigns as an IU student. She worked for the Clinton campaign this fall, serving as an intern to the chief operating officer at national headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then as deputy operations director for the Florida Democratic Coordinated Campaign, coordinating workplace issues for a 750-member staff.

She has been a White House intern with the Office of the First Lady, an investigator intern with the U.S. Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, director of operations for the primary election campaign of Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton, a field organizer for the Human Rights Campaign and lead campus organizer for Freedom Indiana, which advocates for same-sex marriage and LGBT rights.

In fall 2015, she studied political science and history at University College in London and worked as a policy researcher for the U.K. Women's Equality Party. At IU, she founded two student groups committed to combating injustice, revived and led the Feminist Student Association and volunteered at Planned Parenthood and Middle Way House.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest and best-known award for international study and is arguably the most famous academic award available to American college graduates. It was created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer.

This year, about 2,500 students sought the scholarships, and 882 applicants were endorsed by 311 colleges and universities. Committees of Selection in 16 U.S. districts interviewed the strongest candidates.

Scholars are chosen on the basis of academic excellence, leadership, ambition for impact, concern for others and potential to make a difference for good in the world. The scholarship, valued at approximately $68,000 per year, pays all college and university fees and a stipend for expenses.

More on Rhodes Scholarships, including a list of 2017 scholars, is available online. Below is a list of all of IU's Rhodes Scholars.

• 1905 -- Frank Aydelotte
• 1913 -- Richard Simpson
• 1919 -- Ernest R. Baltzell
• 1920 --Ernest K. Lindley
• 1925 --Philip Rice
• 1928 -- Harlan Logan
• 1953 -- Joseph B. Board
• 1964 -- Stephen K. Smith
• 1970 -- William H. Wolfe
• 1983 -- Barbara J. Toman
• 1985 -- Joel Thomas-Adams
• 1994 -- Zachary J. Ziliak
• 2001 -- Raju Raval
• 2003 -- Kathleen Tran
• 2010 -- Mutsa Mutembwa
• 2011 -- Esther Uduehi
• 2017 -- Morgan Mohr

Related Links

• The Rhodes Trust