Hutton Honors College

Musgrave Awarded Mitchell Scholarship

Robert (Paul) Musgrave of Evansville, Indiana, a Wells Scholar and Honors College senior majoring in political science and history has been named one of 12 George J. Mitchell Scholars nationwide.

During the 2004-05 academic year, Musgrave will study for a master's degree in politics at University College Dublin, Ireland's largest university. He is the third IU student to receive the Mitchell award. This year's competition included 245 applicants from 166 colleges and universities across the country.

"This is a fabulous program that has done great things for building relations between the United States and Ireland," Musgrave said. "I want to understand not only the Northern Ireland situation but also the Republic of Ireland itself, which is a remarkable story of progress."

Launched in 1998, the Mitchell Scholarship honors outstanding Americans who exhibit academic excellence, leadership and community service. The scholarship, which is administered by the US-Ireland Alliance, is named in honor of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, who chaired the historic Northern Ireland peace process in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is supported by an endowment established by the government of Ireland.

Many recipients have withdrawn from the long-established Rhodes, Marshall and Fulbright competitions to accept a Mitchell Scholarship. Musgrave said he chose to pursue the Mitchell Scholarship despite also being nominated for the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.

Musgrave will study Chinese politics and international relations in Shanghai this semester. He already has completed his senior theses in political science (on national missile defense) and history (on Herman B Wells' role in state banking regulation during the Great Depression). He plans to graduate in August.

Musgrave writes a weekly column on U.S. foreign policy, international affairs and the IUB community for the Indiana Daily Student. He co-founded the Hoosier Review, an alternative student news source at IUB, in 2002.

More information on the Mitchell Scholarship is available here.