July 3, 2013
Wednesday, the 29th of April was a day to remember for a select group of UT students, parents and faculty. The winners of the Tenth Annual University Co–op George H. Mitchell Awards for Academic Excellence were announced at the Four Seasons Hotel. These awards celebrate and reward undergraduate students who have demonstrated unparalleled dedication and achievement in their fields of study. Chairperson of the University Co–operative Society, Dr. Michael Granof hosted the event. Attendees included UT Systems Regent Janiece Longoria, UT President Bill Powers, Provost Steven Leslie and many Deans and Vice Presidents of the University, as well as past grand prize winners of the award.
"This banquet serves another purpose in addition to honoring the students. It is to remind us all that when we step back from the targets of our day to day issues, the University of Texas is extraordinary. By any reasonable standards it is one of intellectual treasures of our country. And the students that we honor tonight – as well as many of their classmates – will be the scientific, literary, artistic and political leaders of the future. They give us every reason to be optimistic about what lies ahead for Texas, the United States and indeed the world," said Dr. Michael Granof in his opening speech.
Three undergraduate students, Matthew Montry, Architecture Senior; Michael Collins, Asian Studies and Plan II Senior; and Robbie Earle, Government and Spanish Senior, won the second prize and received $5,000 each.
The five winners of the $2,000 awards were: Ari Schulman, English and Computer Science Senior; Allison Bullock, Geography Honors and Biology Senior; Charles Beaman, Mechanical Engineering Honors Senior; Jesse Cordes Selbin, Humanities Honors and English Senior; and Amanda Cayo, Theatre and Dance and Plan II Senior.
About University Co–operative Society:
The University Co–op is a not–for–profit corporation owned by the students, faculty and staff of the University of Texas at Austin. Since the year 2000, the University Co–op has given over 25 million dollars to UT in gifts, grants and rebates to students.