News from the Hilltop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2010

Birmingham-Southern College student named a 2010 Truman Scholar

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Birmingham-Southern College student Katherine Glenn has been named a 2010 Harry S. Truman Scholar. Glenn, a junior history major in the Harrison Honors Program from Murfreesboro, Tenn., was one of four scholars chosen from 13 regional finalists and the only one from the state of Tennessee. She is the sixth Truman Scholar from Birmingham-Southern in 12 years.

Katherine Glenn This year's selection includes 60 Truman Scholars chosen from 576 students nominated from U.S. colleges and universities. Some 200 finalists from 131 institutions were interviewed in February and March by regional selection panels.

Truman Scholars receive $30,000 awards, up to $15,000 each year for the first two years of graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at several graduate institutions nationwide, in addition to leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities with federal agencies.

The scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit to junior-level students at four-year colleges and universities who have extensive records of public and community service, are committed to careers in government or elsewhere in public service, and have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills.

Glenn plans to attend graduate school to study public policy. At Birmingham-Southern, she is president of the College Democrats, secretary of the Honor Council, and a residence hall house director.

“My goal is to first work in public policy advocating for the homeless at the national level and then come back to Alabama to put my knowledge into action for the homeless here,” said Glenn of her future plans.

Glenn interviewed along with 12 other finalists from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

A committee of BSC faculty picked the college's Truman Scholar nominees, including Glenn and BSC student William Breland, a junior history major from Decatur, based on their interest in a Truman Scholarship and life goals which match those set out by the Truman Foundation. Breland was also selected as a finalist. The application process included a policy proposal.

Glenn's policy dealt with solving homelessness in Birmingham. She wrote a proposal to implement a Housing First program designed to target chronic homelessness in this city.

“Many people are unable to get safe, affordable housing,” she said. “The program will provide safe, permanent housing for people regardless of any qualifications.”

The 2010 Truman Scholars will assemble at William Jewel College in Liberty, Mo., from May 25-30 for a week-long leadership development program. They will receive their awards during a May 25 ceremony at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Mo.

Glenn currently has a 3.93 grade-point average at BSC. She was selected as a 2009 BSC Hess Fellow and worked last summer as an intern with the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington, D.C.

Glenn, a fifth generation BSC student, was born in Alabama and grew up in Murfreesboro. She is the daughter of Dr. Robert and Laura Glenn. Dr. Robert Glenn, a BSC alumnus, is president of Athens State University in Athens.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established in 1975 by Congress as the official memorial to the nation's 33rd president.