TOPEKA-  Washburn University senior Garrett Love, of Montezuma,  was recently nominated by the university to compete for the prestigious Rhodes Scholar Award. 

A Rhodes Scholarship provides the opportunity to study at Oxford University for two years, with all tuition fees paid and a living allowance provided. American Rhodes Scholars are selected from all over the nation to pursue a course of study of their own choosing at Oxford; students may work toward a master’s degree or a second bachelor’s degree. If named to the program, Love plans to research methods through which theories of justice and freedom of choice can be incorporated into the analysis of optimal taxation. 

“Garrett has excelled in the academic and extracurricular arenas and has distinguished himself as a leader,” said Robin Bowen, vice president of academic affairs. “He is a positive role model for other students and is very deserving of the nomination.”

Currently president of the Washburn Student Government Association, Love is, according to university archives, the first Washburn student to be nominated for the award in more than 100 years. In 1904, the first year nominations were accepted for the Rhodes, Washburn senior Frank Mohler was selected and completed his studies the next year at Oxford University.  Merrill Templeton, a 1909 graduate, was selected for the honor, but became ill and had to withdraw before he began coursework in England in 1910.  In 1910, Philip Whitcomb became the third Washburn student named a Rhodes Scholar. He began at Oxford in 1911.

Prior to being elected president of Washburn Student Government Association, Love served for two years as a senator.  He currently is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents Student Advisory Council, a student representative of the Washburn Budget Reduction Task Force and the Washburn Strategic Planning Committee and is a member of the Topeka Heartland Visioning Steering Committee.

Love holds a 4.0 grade point average and is majoring in economics, management and finance.  He was a member of the Washburn men’s basketball team for three years and was twice named Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Presidential Scholar.  His honors include membership in Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma, Mortar Board and Sagamore honor societies and participation in the Washburn Leadership Institute.

Established in 1902 through the will of English-born businessman and politician Cecil John Rhodes, the Rhodes Scholar Award is the oldest fellowship program in the world and is bestowed to only 90 students each year. A nominee must possess a high standard of intellectual and academic achievement, exhibit integrity of character, display interest in and respect for fellow beings and display the ability and desire to lead. Applicants must also demonstrate physical vigor that will enable them to make an effective contribution to the world around them, which can be achieved through participation and success in athletics.