PITT SENIOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS MARSHALL SCHOLARSHIP

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 4 -- The British Embassy has named University of Pittsburgh senior Andrew K. Petiprin one of 40 Marshall Scholars nationwide for the year 2001. The Marshall Scholarship is one of the most competitive and prestigious merit scholarships in America.

Pitt is the only public institution in Pennsylvania represented among the winners this year.

The British Parliament created the Marshall Scholarship in honor of General George Marshall, as an enduring gesture of thanks from the British people for assistance provided by the United States in the aftermath of World War II.

The Marshall is often compared to the Rhodes Scholarship, and both emphasize character as well as intellect. More flexible than a Rhodes Scholarship, which restricts study to Oxford University, a Marshall guarantees access and funding at any university in Britain for two years of study toward a degree.

In the past 20 years, Pitt honors students have won more Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships than any other college or university in Pennsylvania, private or public.

"Andrew is the ideal Marshall Scholar," said Alec Stewart, dean of the University Honors College and Pitt's Marshall representative. "He is a socially committed intellectual whose talent is informed by unbounded curiosity and a deep desire to help others."

Petiprin has a great passion for learning and is an authentic intellectual. Fluent in French and German, he is both widely and deeply read, which shows in his academic record at Pitt, with a 3.90 GPA. He is majoring in French/History with a minor in German/Classics.

Petiprin also is a member of the Sixth Presbyterian Church, where he works with other members to feed the homeless and on other community projects in the Pittsburgh area. He tutors fellow undergraduates, along with high school students, during the summer when he visits his family in Orlando, Florida. Having played soccer in high school, Petiprin now prefers to jog and play tennis when time permits.

Petiprin will use his Marshall award to study for a Master's in philosophy in European literature at the University of Oxford.

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