UGA student Adam Cureton named Rhodes Scholar; fourth such honor for UGA since 1996
WRITERS: Kim Cretors, kcretors@uga.edu; Allyson Mann, tiny@uga.edu; (706) 542-8083
CONTACT: Jere Morehead, (706) 542-6089, morehead@uga.edu
Dec 10, 2002, 16:12

ATHENS, Ga. — For the fourth time since 1996, the University of Georgia has a Rhodes Scholar in its ranks: Adam Cureton has been selected one of 32 U.S. recipients of the renowned international study award.

Cureton is the son of Dr. Steven and Sally Cureton of Kingsport, Tenn., and will graduate next spring with a bachelor of arts degree in political theory and evolutionary theory and a master of arts degree in philosophy. He is a Foundation Fellow and Honors Program student at UGA, and he is an active participant in the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO). His other honors include USAA Merit, OWC Merit and HOPE scholarships, and he was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in 1999.

“Having served for several years as the chair of Georgia's Rhodes Scholarship selection committee, I am well aware of the quality of the applicants,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams. “Adam’s recognition as a Rhodes Scholar is a reflection of his hard work and talent, as well as the dedication of the faculty at the University of Georgia, particularly within the Honors Program. Outstanding students paired with outstanding faculty is a recipe for success at the highest levels.”

In addition to his academic pursuits, Cureton is heavily involved in volunteer activities assisting people with disabilities and mentoring children and peers. He is a monitor and reader at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic; a charter member of Leadership, Education and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities; a tutor for the Barrow Elementary After-School Program; and Honors Program peer advisor among others. He is also a stand-up comedian and accomplished racquetball player and rock climber.

“It has been an extraordinary year for the Honors and Foundation Fellows programs in terms of winning several national scholarships culminating in the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship,” said Jere Morehead, associate provost and director of the Honors Program at UGA. “Adam Cureton is an extraordinary young man, and he will be a wonderful addition to the community of scholars at Oxford University.”

Cureton was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants who were endorsed by 341 colleges and universities from across the United States. Rhodes Scholarships — created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British philanthropist and colonial pioneer — provide two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England; all educational costs are paid on the student’s behalf by the Rhodes Trustees.

Applicants are chosen in a three-stage process on the basis of the criteria set down in Rhodes’ will, which include high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor. These basic characteristics are directed at fulfilling Rhodes’s hopes that the Rhodes Scholars would make an effective and positive contribution throughout the world.

Cureton’s selection as a Rhodes Scholar comes nearly 100 years after UGA’s first Rhodes Scholar, Robert Preston Brooks, was named in 1904. A total of 19 UGA students — four in the past eight years — have been selected as Rhodes Scholars.

“I hope that my success reflects the innumerable opportunities and superb faculty that make the University of Georgia such a unique and wonderful institution,” said Cureton. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy at Oxford and in the future hopes to join the faculty of a research university and continue his work in the area of social justice.

A photo of Adam Cureton is available at www.photo.alumni.uga.edu. For more information on the Rhodes Scholarship, visit www.rhodesscholar.org.