Press Release: 2024 Truman Scholars

PRESS RELEASE: Embargoed for release at 12:01 AM ET, Friday, April 12, 2024.
CONTACT: Terry Babcock-Lumish, TBL@truman.gov

JANET NAPOLITANO ANNOUNCES 2024 TRUMAN SCHOLARS

WASHINGTON, DC – Former Arizona Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (NM 77), President of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, announced today the 60 exceptional college students from 54 U.S. colleges and universities selected as 2024 Truman Scholars. The Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.

“Resourceful, patriotic leaders, today’s Truman Scholars would make President Truman proud,” says Dr. Terry Babcock-Lumish, the Foundation’s Executive Secretary and a 1996 Truman Scholar from Pennsylvania. “Rising to meet their moments in this century as he did his in the 20th century, they are dedicated public servants who do not shy from challenge.”

Highlights of our 2024 class include: 

  • Three institutions have a Truman Scholar for the first time – Mercyhurst University, Rutgers University-Camden, and Wayne State University.
  • Six institutions have multiple Truman Scholars – American University, Brown University, Columbia University, Northwestern University, United States Air Force Academy, and University of Pennsylvania.
  • 30 (50%) Scholars attend public universities.
  • 28 (47%) Scholars attend private research universities.
  • 2 (3%) Scholars attend service academies.

Read the full list and biographies of our 2024 Truman Scholars here.

Truman Scholars demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence. Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.

The 60 new Truman Scholars were selected from 709 candidates nominated by 285 colleges and universities. They were recommended by seventeen independent selection panels based on the finalists’ academic success and leadership accomplishments, as well as their likelihood of becoming public service leaders. Regional selection panels met and included distinguished civic leaders, elected officials, university presidents, federal judges, and past Truman Scholarship winners.

Established by Congress in 1975 as the living memorial to President Harry S. Truman and national monument to public service, the Truman Scholarship carries the legacy of our 33rd President by supporting and inspiring the next generation of public service leaders. When approached by a bipartisan group of admirers near the end of his life, President Truman embodied this commitment to the future of public service by asking Congress to create a living memorial devoted to this purpose, rather than a traditional brick-and-mortar monument. For almost fifty years, the Truman Foundation has fulfilled that mission: inspiring and supporting Americans from diverse backgrounds to public service.

Now, the 60 awardees join a community of 3,564 Truman Scholars named since the first awards in 1977. Prominent Truman Scholars  in government service  include United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch (1987), Senator Chris Coons (1983), Representative Gabe Amo (2009), Representative Ted Deutch (1986), Representative Dusty Johnson (1998), Representative Andy Kim (2003), Representative Tom Malinowski (1985), Representative Greg Stanton (1990), White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice (1984), National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (1997), former Arizona Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (1977), former Secretary of Education John King (1995), and Fair Fight founder Stacey Abrams (1994). 

Join the conversation online using the hashtag #Truman24. Follow the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation on Facebook @TrumanScholarship, Twitter @TrumanApp, and Instagram @TrumanFoundation.

 

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