Two Juniors Named Truman Scholars

Two Duke juniors have been selected as national winners of the Truman Scholarship, which recognizes academic accomplishments, leadership potential and commitment to a career in public service.

Philip Kurian, a public policy and physics major from Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Anthony Vitarelli, a public policy and economics major from Marlton, N.J., were notified of their award last week by President Nannerl O. Keohane. Madeleine K. Albright, president of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, announced that 77 students from 67 U.S. colleges and universities were honored.

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships of $2,000 for senior-year study and up to $26,000 for graduate studies to students who plan to pursue careers in government or public service. In addition, Truman scholars receive leadership development training and internship opportunities in the federal government.

Kurian, a B.N. Duke Scholar who is studying abroad this semester, has thrown himself into a variety of campus issues as a columnist for The Chronicle and as a member of the Business and Finance Committee of Duke's Board of Trustees and the President's Council on Black Affairs.

"The Truman application demands a clear vision for one self, and for society, and I just turned 21. What do I know about anything?" Kurian wrote in an e-mail from South America. "But I applied because I have a passion for education and for increasing equality of educational opportunity in America. I wanted to connect with other students across the nation who are driven by similar concerns about the public good.

"Right now I intend to teach science at the primary or secondary level, but I also want to stay involved in my writing."

Kurian said one thing he has learned at Duke is that education is something that involves a community of individuals. He credited his friends and teachers with encouraging him in the work that won him the Truman award.

"This scholarship reflects highly on the teachers, students and friends who have invested it me. It lays testament to the tremendous impact that others have had in my life."

Vitarelli also has been active in campus organizations. As a sophomore, he was elected president of the Duke Campus Council. He also is a co-founder of the Duke Greening Initiative -- an interdisciplinary organization that seeks to promote environmentally friendly policies on campus and in the community.

He intends to use the scholarship to attend law school and pursue a career in criminal law.

"I'd love to be a district attorney, and maybe (someday) a U.S. attorney," Vitarelli said. The Truman also offers an internship during the summer following graduation. Currently, I'm considering the Office of Legal Policy in the Department of Justice or trying to find a research position at the State Department."

To date, Duke students have received 37 Truman scholarships since the program was initiated in 1977.