OXFORD, Miss. – Tommy Vincent “Vince” Chamblee of Fulton interviewed Saturday (Nov. 21)
as a finalist for a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
A senior in
the UM Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College who is on track to graduate in
May 2010, Chamblee participated in the rigorous selection finals in Kansas City,
Mo. The academic distinction is shared by some of the world’s great leaders and
intellectuals of the past century.
The
scholarship provides an all-expenses-paid opportunity to study for two years at
Oxford University in England, one of the world’s oldest universities. It is the
most coveted academic award for American undergraduates.
“Vince
Chamblee has distinguished himself as one of our most accomplished students,”
said Chancellor Dan Jones. “Previously, he received the Lott Institute’s most
significant scholarship award and a Taylor Medal (the university’s highest
academic award). Our entire community takes pride in his having been
interviewed as a finalist in this year’s Rhodes Scholarship program.”
Chamblee
won the Barksdale Award last spring for a project that includes travel to Switzerland,
Dubai and Tanzania for independent research into the economics of human
trafficking. He also studied at the University of Edinburgh through the UM
Study Abroad program and held an internship under a member of the Scottish
Parliament.
“Mr.
Chamblee is an outstanding economics major,” said Jon Moen, UM chair of economics.
“His attention to detail in class makes teaching a pleasure. Ole Miss is
fortunate to have had a student like him.”
In
his endorsement of Chamblee for the Rhodes, honors college Dean Douglass
Sullivan-Gonzalez described him as “following a path without landmarks.
Vince has the courage to ask substantive questions and, even more importantly,
to hear the difficult answers that sometimes come back to him.”
It’s
a path that has been instilled in Chamblee all his life, the honoree said.
“My
grandfather shared this quote from Woodrow Wilson: ‘You are not here to merely
make a living; you are here in order to enable the world to live more amply,
with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement,’” Chamblee
said. “I hope the decisions I’ve made have directed me toward that goal.”
Chamblee
entered UM as a Trent Lott Leadership Institute Scholar and an honors college fellow.
He received Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa honors and was named a Taylor
Medalist as a junior. He is earning bachelor’s degrees in economics, public policy
leadership and accountancy.
After
graduation, Chamblee said he plans to earn an intermediary post-doctorate
degree, refine his understanding at the World Bank in its social development
sector, then spend a year in eastern Africa. Following his time there, Chamblee
plans to attend law school in the United States and specialize in international
law, with a particular academic emphasis on the expansion of powers for the
International Court of Justice to policy areas concerning global
sustainability.
After
high school, Chamblee applied to at least 17 colleges and universities,
spanning from as far south as Tulane University to as far north as Syracuse
University. A week before the April 1 decision deadline, he narrowed the pool
down to three: Vanderbilt University, Marquette University and Ole Miss.
“That
week, my father and I decided to take a trip to look at each of them one last
time,” he said. “During that last visit to Ole Miss, I had the opportunity
to meet with Dean Sullivan-Gonzalez and Dr. John Samonds from the Honors
College. I based my decision on the fact that Ole Miss genuinely believes its
own success is predicated upon the well-being and success of its students.”
Though
he has always been an exceptional student, Chamblee hasn’t had it easy, his
father said.
“Vince
has been blessed with a tremendous amount of determination to achieve whatever
goals he sets for himself,” Tommy A. Chamblee said. “I remember as a fifth-grader,
he had a 100 average in history and still wanted to write a five-page paper for
extra credit. I’m very proud of him and his accomplishments.”
Chamblee
would have been the second UM student in two years to win the Rhodes Scholar.
Shadrack “Shad” Tucker White of Sandersville won the honor in 2008. Over the
past 10 years, Ole Miss has produced several Rhodes Scholarship finalists, as
well as five Truman, eight Goldwater and six Fulbright scholars, plus one
Marshall, one Udall and one Gates Cambridge scholar.
Rhodes
Scholarships were started after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902 and bring
accomplished students from around the world to the University of Oxford. The
first American scholars were elected in 1904, according to the scholarship’s
Web site.
Regional
committees select 32 American Rhodes Scholars annually from nominees in each
state.