Academic All-Stars

Tom Luongo has several good reasons to smile. The associate dean and director of the Honors Program at Newcomb-Tulane College proudly announces that four Tulane honors students have been recognized by prestigious national scholarship programs.

"The Honors Program is pleased to announce that Grace Harpster, a junior pursuing a double major in art history and German studies and a minor in classical studies, has been selected as a 2010 Beinecke Scholar," Luongo said.

The Beinecke Scholarship program awards $34,000 for graduate school studies. Harpster intends to pursue a graduate degree in the history of art and a career as an art historian, Luongo said. At Tulane, her faculty mentors include Holly Flora, assistant professor of art history, and Elio Brancaforte, associate professor in German and Slavic languages.

In addition, senior Chanel Clarke has been awarded a three-year James A. Michener Fellowship in Creative Writing from the University of Texas Michener Center for Writers. It is one of the five most highly selective programs in the country.

Clarke becomes one of the 12 newly admitted fellows to receive free tuition, a $25,000 annual stipend for three years, and a $6,000 professional development fund. An English major, Clarke has studied with poet and professor Peter Cooley.

Meanwhile, juniors Matthew Peters, an engineering physics major, and Christina Yee, a biomedical engineering major, have been recognized by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program. Peters was named a 2010 Goldwater Scholar, and Yee received Honorable Mention recognition.

The Goldwater Scholarship brings with it an award of up to $7,500 that may be applied toward college expenses.

Peters plans to pursue a PhD in physics and a career in teaching and research, while Yee is interested in attaining an MD/PhD in computational biology.

All four students are part of the Honors Program at Tulane.