Saturday, March 25, 2006
English literature/psychology major wins Trustees Distinguished Merit Award
 Craig T. Fehrman was well prepared for formal education by his parents, Charlie and Debbie Fehrman, who educated him at home in Dillsboro, Indiana, until he came to USI in fall 2003.The junior English literature and psychology major has been named the 2006 Trustees Distinguished Merit Award winner, the highest recognition bestowed on a student during Honors Week. He received the recognition, which includes a $1,000 award, during the College of Liberal Arts Honors Convocation on March 19. Fehrman has excelled in academic and extracurricular activities at USI, taking on many responsibilities while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. He is a Resident Assistant, online editor for the Shield, tutor in the Academic Skills Writers’ Room, vice president of the English honors society, Sigma Tau Delta, and founder and co-editor of Amalgam, an undergraduate research journal debuting this semester. He also assists Dr. Michael Kearns, professor of English and department chair, with the Emily Dickinson International Society Bulletin, and is a member of the dean of the College of Liberal Arts student advisory board. “Craig is the kind of student who comes along every quarter of a century in a teacher’s life,” Kearns said. “He’s that good. He’s well read, committed to learning and to critical thinking, and humble and self assured at the same time. He’s aware of his limits, but he’s also aware of his strengths, and that’s an amazing combination.” In April, he will present his paper entitled, "How Long Has Charlton Heston Been Moses? A Study of the Medieval Bible (And How It Relates to Ours)" at the RISC conference, and another paper, “Did Chaucer Read the Wycliffite Bible,” at the 27th Medieval and Renaissance Forum at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. Kearns said, “I know that he has impressed people in literary studies, not just from USI, but scholars elsewhere already, with some of the work that he’s done. He’s basically functioning at the level of an advanced graduate student.” At the 2005 College of Liberal Arts Honors Convocation, Fehrman was awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the USI Alumni Association and was one of two winners of the Louis Schewe Essay Contest, “Why Americans Don’t Read,” for his essay entitled, “Comfortable Books and Creative Reading.” The Trustees Distinguished Merit Award recognizes outstanding achievement not only in the student's major but also in the liberal arts and sciences that form the core curriculum of a college education. Each college nominates one student for the award. It is awarded to the one junior or senior at USI who best qualifies by virtue of the overall integrity of his or her student life. Selection is made by the Student Affairs Committee. |
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