2009 Notes to Candidates

Candidate Application Materials for Truman Scholarships

Deadline for Foundation receipt of nominations: February 3, 2009
[Your campus will likely have an earlier deadline for
submission of materials to your Faculty Representative.]

Finalists announced: February 17, 2009

2009 Truman Scholars announced: March 26, 2009

The notes for candidates provided below includes information on the following topics:

• A Career In Public Service
• Conditions Of Eligibility
• Selection Procedures
• Truman Scholar Activities
• Important Dates
• Scholarship Conditions
• Preparation of Materials and Notification of Status
• Required Notices


Notes to Candidates for 2009 Truman Scholarships
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards $30,000 merit-based scholarships to college students who wish to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public service.
Sixty to sixty-five students will be awarded Truman Scholarships in 2009. They will receive leadership training, graduate school counseling, preferential admission and merit-based aid to some premier graduate institutions, and internship opportunities with federal agencies. They will establish friendships with persons sharing similar values and interests.
Scholars are eligible to receive up to $15,000 for the first year of graduate study. They are eligible to receive up to $15,000 for the final year of graduate study. Scholars are required to work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of a Foundation funded graduate degree program as a condition of receiving funding.
In 2009, one or more scholarships will be available to a qualified resident nominee in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and, considered as a single entity, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (the Islands).

A CAREER IN PUBLIC SERVICE

The Foundation seeks persons who aspire for positions in government or the nonprofit and advocacy sectors where they wish to improve the ways in which federal, state, or local government agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations serve the public and protect resources.
The Foundation has supported Truman Scholars in many fields of study, including agriculture, biology, engineering, environmental management, physical and social sciences, and technology policy, as well as traditional fields such as economics, education, government, history, international relations, law, political science, public administration, nonprofit management, public policy, and public health.
Past Truman Scholarship winners serve as managers of government programs, legislators and aides for legislative bodies, foreign service officers, school teachers, staff members in policy analysis and research organizations, attorneys for government agencies, public defenders, professors, and professional staff in advocacy organizations and not-for-profit institutions to serve the disadvantaged or to protect the environment.

CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY
Candidates must be nominated by their current institution of higher education or by their two-year institution if they are transfer students from community colleges or junior colleges. Applications are not accepted directly from candidates. Each nominee must be
• a full-time junior-level student at a four-year institution pursuing a bachelor's degree during the 2008-2009 academic year. “Junior” here means a student who plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December 2009 and August 2010, a student in his or her second or third year of collegiate study who expects to graduate during the 2008-2009 academic year, or a senior-level student who is a resident of Puerto Rico or the Islands,
• committed to a career in public service as defined above,
• in the upper quarter of his or her class, and
• a United States citizen or a United States national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Resident aliens (green card holders) are not eligible.

SELECTION PROCEDURES
The Foundation employs a two-step selection process to choose Truman Scholars. A committee will examine all nominations and will select about 200 Finalists to be interviewed for Truman Scholarships.
Typically, Truman Scholarship Finalists are interviewed by 5-member regional selection panels composed of senior public servants, college and university presidents, and past Truman Scholarship winners. The preliminary interview schedule is posted on the website.
If a panel judges that no Finalist from a state or district satisfactorily meets each of the scholarship criteria, it does not select a Scholar from that state or district. The Scholarship will be carried over to 2010 when up to two scholarships will be available to qualified residents.
Details on selection procedures will be posted on the website (www.truman.gov).

TRUMAN SCHOLAR ACTIVITIES
1. TRUMAN SCHOLARS LEADERSHIP WEEK
The 2009 Truman Scholars must attend this event, to be held May 24-31, 2009, at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. The Foundation will provide for travel from the Scholar's home (or institution if the school term is still in progress), lodging, and meals.
2. AWARDS CEREMONY
The 2009 Truman Scholars must attend the Awards Ceremony on May 31, 2009, at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri.
3. 2010 TRUMAN SCHOLARS WASHINGTON
SUMMER INSTITUTE
The Foundation will provide a 9-week Washington Summer Institute consisting of graduate-level seminars and workshops and internships for all members of the 2009 class of Truman Scholars. Internships, travel to Washington, and subsidized housing will be provided.

SCHOLARSHIP CONDITIONS
The award may be used only for tuition, fees,books, and room and board or other specifically approved expenses. Payments from the Foundation may be received to supplement, but not to duplicate, benefits from the educational institution or from other foundations, institutions, or organizations. The combined benefits from all sources may not exceed the costs of tuition, fees, books, and room and board as prescribed by the institution's cost-of-attendance budget.
The Foundation may withhold or terminate a scholarship due to unsatisfactory academic performance or failure as judged by the Foundation to pursue preparation specifically for a career in public service.
Scholars are required to provide an annual report by July 15. Scholars must submit a detailed graduate study proposal and receive approval from the Foundation before funds for graduate study can be provided. Scholars may request postponement of their awards because of ill health or other mitigating circumstances. Scholars may defer for up to four years Foundation support for their graduate studies after completion of their undergraduate studies. Scholars in graduate study programs supported by other means may request additional years of deferral.
The Foundation has a service requirement.  All Scholars are required to work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of a Foundation funded graduate degree program as a condition of receiving Truman funds.  Scholars are also required to file timely reports with the Foundation on their current employment activities.

PREPARATION OF MATERIALS AND NOTIFICATION OF STATUS

Only on-line submissions will be accepted. The Foundation will not accept printed materials.  Applicants should: 

• Respond precisely to the application questions. Confine responses to the spaces provided.

• Briefly explain any activities, courses, or honors that readers are not likely to understand.

• In Items 2 and 3, list your activities in descending order of significance or importance (e.g., start with the one that you believe has been your most substantial contribution).

• Use Items 7-10 and 14 to reveal your values, interests, and motivation for a career in public service. The Foundation will protect sensitive information. See the website for examples of exemplary responses.

• Propose a detailed plan for study in Item 11. Name the graduate institutions of greatest interest that are likely to accept you. (Scholars may change their study plans as long as the new plans are consistent with preparation for a career in public service.)

• Prepare a convincing Policy Proposal. You will have limited space to examine a significant policy issue or problem that is in your intended area of public service as described in Item 9. Present your proposal in the form of a memo to the government official who you feel has the most direct authority to resolve the issue (e.g., President, Cabinet Officer, Governor, Chair of a Legislative Committee). Use no more than 500 words.
  Your memo needs to define the problem, lay out your proposed solution, and identify major obstacles to the implementation of your solution. Provide statistical data to put the issue in context and to support your recommendations. Cite major sources. The proposal must be confined to the space provided. Any references, footnotes, and exhibits must be presented in the space available, but do not count against the 500 word limit.

• Alert the Foundation to any unusual circumstances that have limited your activities or affected your grades. Note such restrictions in Item 14 or ask your Faculty Representative to cover them in the Nomination Letter.

• Make the application and policy proposal neat and easy to read. They should be impeccable in terms of appearance.

• Work closely with your Truman Faculty Representative. You should gain valuable skills for putting together outstanding applications and for presenting yourself well in interviews. The Faculty Representative can help you develop plans for further study.

• The deadline for submission of this application to the Foundation receipt is midnight, February 3, 2009. Your campus will likely have an earlier deadline for submission of materials to your Faculty Representative. You must coordinate with your Faculty Representative to ensure that your printed materials are received by the Foundation by this deadline.The nominations package must be submitted by the Truman Faculty Representative.

The list of Finalists and their assigned interview date and location will be posted at www.truman.gov on February 17. Finalists must confirm their interview by February 19. Each Finalist's assigned interview date and location will be in the web listing. The interview date or location cannot be changed, regardless of the circumstances of the Finalist.

REQUIRED NOTICES
Privacy Act Advisory Statement. Pursuant to the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-579), please be advised: Public Law 93-642 authorizes solicitation of this information that will be used to select Truman Scholars. The information may also be used to publicize your selection as a Truman Scholar. Furnishing the information is voluntary; failure to do so will prevent your consideration for a Truman Scholarship.
Debarment and Suspension Certification. In accordance with Executive Order 12549, Debarment and Suspension, as a condition of appointment, each Truman Scholar must certify that he or she is (a) Not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any federal department or agency; (b) Has not within a three-year period preceding this award been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against him or her for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property; (c) Is not presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity (Federal, State, or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in the preceding paragraph; and, (d) Has not had one or more public transactions (Federal, State, or local) terminated for cause or default within three years preceding the date of the Award Letter.
Information collection certification. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Foundation has estimated the average burden of the collection to be fifty hours per respondent. Comments concerning the accuracy of this burden estimate should be directed to the Foundation.