94-03-17 Truman Scholar Named at U.Va.

TRUMAN SCHOLAR NAMED AT U.VA.

     CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 17 -- Jason F. Dickerson of
HUNTINGTON, WV, a third-year honors student at the University of
Virginia, has been selected as a 1994 Truman Scholar.  The national
award provides Dickerson, a government and foreign affairs major,
with approximately $30,000 for continuing his studies in
preparation for a career in public service.
     The only student to be named Truman Scholar in Virginia this
year, Dickerson pursues numerous interests while maintaining a
grade-point-average of 3.8.  He serves as publicity director for
Open House Hotline, a crisis line operated through Madison House,
a volunteer community service organization.  He also writes for the
Declaration and the University Journal, two student publications.
     The 20-year-old was previously selected as a Jefferson and an
Echols Scholar through U.Va. programs that recognize students of
exceptional academic ability and leadership prowess.
     A 1991 graduate of Wayne (WV) High School, Dickerson has
worked the past two summers as a public relations coordinator at
the West Virginia Center for Professional Development, a division
of Gov. Gaston Caperton's office.
     Dickerson said he plans to use the Harry S. Truman Scholarship
Foundation funds to study public administration and public policy
at graduate school.  Noting that he described on the scholarship
application how job apprenticeship programs would prepare non-
college-bound youth for employment, Dickerson said, "I am
particularly interested in studying social policy."
     This year, about 80 students will be chosen nationally from
approximately 850 applications for their commitment to public
service, leadership potential and academic achievement.  More than
425 colleges and universities nominated outstanding students for
the scholarship, which funds the final year of undergraduate
education and up to three years of graduate education.
     The last Truman scholar from U.Va. was selected in 1992.
                               ###
                                                   March 16, 1994
     FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Jason Dickerson at (804) 296-
4117.

[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Thu, 17 Mar 94 09:13:06 EST]