OUSF to Expand Role Under New Senior Leaders

The new senior leadership of Duke’s Office of University Scholars and Fellows (OUSF) says it wants to help more Duke students find nationally competitive scholarships during college as well as after graduation.

“Duke students are fantastic, and becoming even more fantastic over time,” said Alex Hartemink, a computer science professor and Rhodes Scholar alumnus who was named OUSF’s faculty director this summer.  “We know the scholars identified in existing programs and will continue to serve them well, but we also hope to identify and welcome other undergraduates looking to go deeper.”

Whether students have found their intellectual paths or need help identifying their primary direction, many Duke students find it easy to get overwhelmed by all the available opportunities, Hartemink said. That is one place where OUSF can help – better publicizing and explaining scholarships to both students and advisors.

In addition to Hartemink, OUSF’s new leadership team includes Jane Coyle Morris, who led scholarship advising efforts and undergraduate research at Villanova University. Morris started this month.  

Morris said she was attracted to her new job by the opportunity to broaden the scope of the office’s already strong, established program for merit scholars. “I want to build on the excellent foundation of my predecessors and help even more students find scholarships to use their talents and skills to go into the world,” said Morris, noting that many people don’t know there are some Fulbright scholarships in the UK for sophomores.

Turning OUSF into a sort of intellectual hub for the larger student body won’t mean creating new programs, Morris said. “We know that many Duke units are already engaging students intellectually,” Morris said. “We’re talking about helping them connect better, and partnering with the exceptional programs that already exist.”

Steve Nowicki, the dean and vice provost for undergraduate education who oversees the OUSF office, said Morris and Hartemink will work closely with the OUSF staff to reach out to other offices and more students.  

“The search committee was extremely impressed with Jane,” Nowicki said. “Under her leadership, Villanova has been particularly successful in winning Fulbright scholarships, as well as the Marshall, the Rhodes, and the Mitchell scholarships in recent years.”

At Villanova, Morris was head of the Center for Undergraduate Research and led an annual presidential scholarship program that focused on academic excellence, leadership, creativity, resilience and civic engagement.

She is also a former president of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors and, among other duties, served as a direct liaison between the scholarship advisees and the leadership of foundations including the Rhodes, the Marshall, the Mitchell, and the Udall.