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Department of Public Policy Leadership
University of Mississippi

Award Recipients

Posted on: November 1st, 2021 by amyevans

Award Recipient News


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National Awards

Fulbright

Established in 1946, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries. The program’s primary source of funding is an annual appropriation made by Congress to the U.S. Department of State and its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The Fulbright U.S. student program provides an unparalleled opportunity to teach, study and conduct research in over 130 countries worldwide. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Neely Griggs 2022
Public Policy Leadership, German

Wills Hays 2020
Public Policy Leadership

Truman Scholars

Funded by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, Truman Scholars receive a nationally prestigious graduate fellowship for those pursuing careers as public service leaders. UM students have received 15 Truman Scholar awards.

Chelsea Caveny 2010
Public Policy Leadership

James McGraw 2009
Public Policy Leadership, Economics


Hall of Fame Recipients

One of the highest honors afforded students at UM, these 10 graduating seniors are selected from the top Who’s Who Among Student recipients. Students are judged based on their campus involvement, leadership, academic achievements, and service activities. The Hall of Fame students have made outstanding contributions in all aspects of campus life.

Congratulations to the following Hall of Fame recipients in the Department of Public Policy Leadership

2022

Grace Dragna
Public Policy Leadership, Economics

Ella Endorf
Public Policy Leadership

Madison Gordon
Public Policy Leadership

Katelin Hayward
Public Policy Leadership

Ian Pigg
Public Policy Leadership


2021

Shleby D’Amico
Public Policy Leadership

Madison Thorton
Biological Sciences, Public Policy Leadership

Robert “Cade” Slaughter
Integrated Marketing Communications, Public Policy Leadership

+ See more Hall of Fame Recipients, 2020–2012

2020

Benjamin Payne
Economics, Public Policy Leadership


2019

Levi Bevis
Public Policy Leadership

Elam Miller
Public Policy Leadership

Mallie Imbler
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership


2018

Austin Splindler
Public Policy Leadership

Allen Coon
African American Studies, Public Policy Leadership

Savannah Smith
Journalism, Public Policy Leadership


2017

James Roland Markos
Biochemistry, Biological Science, Public Policy Leadership

Austin Powell
Philosophy, Public Policy Leadership

John Brahan
Public Policy Leadership, Theatre Arts


2016

Rod Bridges
Public Policy Leadership

William Kneip
Public Policy Leadership


2015

Rob Barber
Public Policy Leadership

Christine Dickason
Public Policy Leadership

Briana O’Neil
Public Policy Leadership

Anna Kathryn Suggs
Public Policy Leadership

Phillip Waller
Journalism, Public Policy Leadership


2014

Timothy Orinaze Abram
Public Policy Leadership

Gregory Alston
Public Policy Leadership

Madison Elizabeth Coburn
Public Policy Leadership

Daniel Curtis Roberts
Public Policy Leadership

Vinod Kannuthurai
Classics, Political Science, Public Policy Leadership


2013

Lauren Wright
Public Policy Leadership

Sarah Robinson
Public Policy Leadership

Brian Barnes
Public Policy Leadership, Spanish


2012

Marianna McInnis Breland
Public Policy Leadership

Caleb Miles Herod
Public Policy Leadership

Meghan Marae’ Litten
Public Policy Leadership

Phelton Cortez Moss
Public Policy Leadership

Taylor Michael McGraw
Public Policy Leadership

Davis Lee Gates
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership


Phi Beta Kappa Inductees

Phi Beta Kappa, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, is the oldest undergraduate honors organization in the United States. Its mission is to recognize academic excellence and promote education in the liberal arts and sciences. Election to Phi Beta Kappa has been a recognition of outstanding academic achievement. The goal of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is to encourage humane learning—breadth of interest, depth of understanding, intellectual honesty, and respect for a diversity of informed opinion.

The UM chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was chartered on April 6, 2001. Membership is conferred upon fewer than ten percent of each graduating class by the Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Selection is based upon the evidence of broad cultural interests, scholarly achievement, and good character. Students demonstrate a broad exposure to the liberal arts—fine arts, humanities, languages, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and history.

Congratulations to the following Phi Beta Kappa inductees in the Department of Public Policy Leadership

2021

Lillian Grace Copley
Public Policy Leadership

Grace Louise Dragna
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Harrison Marcel Durland
International Studies, Public Policy Leadership

Gabrielle Corrin Hunter
Public Policy Leadership

Julia Ruth James
Journalism, Public Policy Leadership

Abby Elizabeth Johnston
Public Policy Leadership

Jonathan David Kirk
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

Davis Campbell McCool
Public Policy Leadership

Mitchell Reed Palmertree
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Chloe Antoine Rizk
Public Policy Leadership

Abby Marie Sonnier
Public Policy Leadership

+ See more Phi Beta Kappa inductees, 2020–2009

2020

Joseph Richard Caplis
Public Policy Leadership

Thomas Keller Fowlkes
Accountancy, Public Policy Leadership

Corbin Nicolaos Fox
Public Policy Leadership

Neely Caradine Griggs
Business, Public Policy Leadership

Hannah Hoang
Biology, Public Policy Leadership

Ann Cannon Hoover
Public Policy Leadership

Sloane Carlisle Reid
Public Policy Leadership

Madison Noelle Thornton
Biology, Public Policy Leadership


2019

Robert Grady Pickering
Biochemistry, Public Policy Leadership

Catrina Catherine Curtis
Public Policy Leadership

Jackson Manley Colburn
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Julia Rose Grant
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Mallie Elizabeth Imbler
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

Levi Cade Bevis
Public Policy Leadership

Hallie Paige Gillam
Public Policy Leadership

Margaret Hampton Hay
Public Policy Leadership

Katherine Coleman Sistrunk
Public Policy Leadership


2018

Joseph Mac Weld Bell
International Studies, Public Policy Leadership

John Brahan
Public Policy Leadership, Theatre Arts

Louis John Hallow III
Public Policy Leadership

Alexandria Kristina Montgomery
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Ann Weston Sistrunk
Public Policy Leadership

Molly Anne Uthoff
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership


2017

Edward Wylly Killorin, III
Public Policy Leadership

James Roland Markos
Biochemistry, Biology, Public Policy Leadership

Eloise Wright Tyner
Public Policy Leadership


2016

Cody Michael Austin
Public Policy Leadership

Eric Tyrell Bennett
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

Amy Virginia Hall
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Samuel Collins Hearn
Public Policy Leadership, Spanish

Kathryn Elsa James
Economics, Public Policy Leadership, Southern Studies

Mary Elizabeth Kakales
Public Policy Leadership

Zachary Blake Landers
Public Policy Leadership

Joseph Randall Latham
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Ryan Thomas Snow
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Anna Grace Stout
Public Policy Leadership

Anna Lee Whisenant
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership


2015

Jillian Leah Cowart
French, International Studies, Public Policy Leadership

Alison Lois Guider
History, Public Policy Leadership

Eliott Channing Lansdell
Accountancy, Public Policy Leadership

Kendall Lane McDonald
Public Policy Leadership

Mary Sloan Denning Merkel
Public Policy Leadership

Zachery Layne Newton
International Studies, Public Policy Leadership

Kelsey Rheanna Reckart
Public Policy Leadership

William Allen Reynolds II
Public Policy Leadership

Anna Kathryn Suggs
Public Policy Leadership

Phillip Christopher Walle
Journalism, Public Policy Leadership


2014

Madison Elizabeth Coburn
Public Policy Leadership

Adam Maurice Blackwell
Public Policy Leadership

Emory Caroline Smith
Public Policy Leadership


2013

Brian Davis Barnes
Public Policy Leadership, Spanish

Brett Cody Bobe
Public Policy Leadership

Travis Lenti Gray
French, Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

Vinod Kannuthurai
Classics, Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

Hunter Owen Nicholson
Accounting, Public Policy Leadership, Spanish


2012

Henry Baker Boler
Public Policy Leadership

Molly Hunter Harris
Public Policy Leadership

Taylor Michael McGraw
Public Policy Leadership

Matthew Brannon Miller
Public Policy Leadership

John Abraham Montgomery II
Public Policy Leadership, Philosophy


2011

Chelsea Kate Caveny
Public Policy Leadership

Meaghan Michelle Gandy
Public Policy Leadership

Mary Katherine Graham
Public Policy Leadership

Alex Key McLelland
Public Policy Leadership

Gideon Charles Sylvester Moorhead
Political Science, Public Policy

Rachel Elizabeth Willis
Public Policy Leadership, Political Science


2010

James Kenneth McGraw
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Carmen Rae Musgrove
Public Policy Leadership

Katherine Grace Watson
Public Policy Leadership, Southern Studies

Marie Elizabeth Wicks
International Studies, Public Policy Leadership


2009

Tommy Vincent Chamblee
Accountancy, Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Daniel Garrett Jackson
Public Policy Leadership, Political Science


Taylor Medalists

In 1904, Dr. William T. Taylor of Booneville, MS, founded the Marcus Elvis Taylor Memorial award at the University of Mississippi, “out of affection and regard for the memory of his son, the late Dr. Marcus Elvis Taylor, an honored alumnus of the University of the Class of 1871, and out of benevolent regard and good will for the youth of the state and the interest and work of the University of Mississippi, and for the encouragement of meritorious scholarship and deportment.”

Students are nominated for outstanding scholarship in their particular field combined with superior work in all other subjects. The number awarded annually may not be more than one percent of the student body. To be eligible, a student must have a GPA of 3.90 or higher and completed at least 105 hours of overall course credit. Transfer students must have earned forty-five semester hours at the University of Mississippi prior to being nominated.

Congratulations to the following Taylor Medal recipients in the Department of Public Policy Leadership

2021

Joseph Richard Caplis
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Conogher S. Clancy
Finance, Public Policy Leadership

Ann Cannon Hoover
Integrated Marketing Communication, Public Policy Leadership

Gabrielle Corrin Hunter
Public Policy Leadership

Mitchell Reed Palmertree
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

+ See more Taylor Medalists, 2021–2010

2020

Madison Noelle Thornton
Biological Science, Public Policy Leadership


2019

Jeffrey Becker
Public Policy Leadership

Jackson Colburn
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Harrison Durland
International Studies, Public Policy Leadership

Hallie Gillam
Public Policy Leadership

Julie Grant
Public Policy Leadership

Mallie Imbler
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

Ann Sistrunk
Public Policy Leadership


2018

Morgan Leanna Cannon
Public Policy Leadership


2017

Cody Michael Austin
Public Policy Leadership

Amy Virginia Hall
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Ariyl Onstott
Public Policy Leadership


2016

Kathryn James
Economics, Public Policy Leadership, Southern Studies

James Markos
Biological Science, Public Policy Leadership

Anna Whisenant
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership


2014

Jillian Cowart
International Studies, Public Policy Leadership

Christine Dickason
Public Policy Leadership

Phillip Waller
Journalism, Public Policy Leadership


2013

Brett Bobe
Public Policy Leadership

Travis Gray
French, Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

Vinod Kannuthurai
Classics, Political Science, Public Policy Leadership


2012

Molly Hunter Harris
Public Policy Leadership

Taylor McGraw
Public Policy Leadership

Matthew Miller
Political Science, Public Policy Leadership

John Montgomery
Philosophy, Public Policy Leadership

Hunter Nicholson
Accountancy, Public Policy Leadership


2011

Mary Katherine Graham
Public Policy Leadership


2010

Elizabeth Jayne Joseph
English, Public Policy Leadership
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James Kenneth McGraw
Economics, Public Policy Leadership


Ventress Scholars

Ventress Scholars are graduating seniors in the College of Liberal Arts with a 4.0 GPA.

Congratulations to the following Ventress Scholar recipients in the Department of Public Policy Leadership

2020–2021

Joseph Richard Caplis
Public Policy Leadership

Ann Cannon Hoover
Public Policy Leadership

Gabrielle Corrin Hunter
Public Policy Leadership

Mitchell Reed Palmertree
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

+ See more Ventress Scholar Recipients, 2020–2016

2019–2020

Julia Rose Grant
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Katherine Thomas Oglesby
Public Policy Leadership

2018–2019

Jeffrey Bryan Becker
Public Policy Leadership

Jackson Manley Colburn
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

2016-2017

Cody Michael Austin
Public Policy Leadership

Ariyl Celeste Onstott
Public Policy Leadership


Who’s Who Recipients

To be considered, students must have completed 90+ hours as an undergraduate student, must have a verified overall GPA of 2.75 and must be in good standing. Students are judged based on their campus involvement, leadership, academic achievements, and service activities. Who’s Who is a prerequisite for one of the University’s highest honors, the University of Mississippi Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to the following Who’s Who recipients in the Department of Public Policy Leadership

2021

Shelby D’Amico
Public Policy Leadership

Neely Griggs
Public Policy Leadership

Anna Hall
Public Policy Leadership

Sabine Horne
Public Policy Leadership

Gabrielle Hunter
Public Policy Leadership

Julia James
Public Policy Leadership

Abby Johnston
Public Policy Leadership

Jonathan Kirk
Public Policy Leadership

Mimi McCarroll
Public Policy Leadership

Mitchell Palmertree
Economics, Public Policy Leadership

Robert (Cade) Slaughter
Public Policy Leadership

Abby Sonnier
Public Policy Leadership

Madison Thornton
Public Policy Leadership

Nick Weaver
Public Policy Leadership

Tyler Yarbrough
Public Policy Leadership