Society of Yeager Scholars
Encyclopedia
The Society of Yeager Scholars is the name of the highest academic scholarship offered at Marshall University
, named in honor of Chuck Yeager
, the first recorded pilot to break the sound barrier
.
).
The Society of Yeager Scholars is a part of the academic program of Marshall University and comes under the direction of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Academic policy for the Yeager Scholars program is guided by a Steering Committee composed of university faculty. The Chair of the Steering Committee and the Director of the John R. Hall Center for Academic Excellence have a role in developing the curriculum, administering the budget, coordinating the international aspects of the program, and recruiting and advising of the scholars.
A Board of Directors, which includes politicians, business leaders, and former students, has been established to advise on policy, to promote the Society, to assist in recruiting students, and to be active in fund-raising. Permanent members of the Board of Directors are the President of Marshall University as well as the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement of the university. The Governor of West Virginia is an Ex-officio member of the board.
Funding for the Society of Yeager Scholars comes primarily from private money. An endowment in excess of $9.2 million supports the Yeager Scholars and is administered through the Marshall University Foundation.
. The process of selecting Yeager Scholars begins with an application made directly to the program and submitted by December 1st of each year. The application consists of information about each student's extracurricular activities, honors and awards, and includes personal essays. Each application must be accompanied by three letters of reference and a transcript of high school grades.
The applications are screened by a special committee of faculty and administrators and are evaluated on a system that takes into consideration scores on the ACT
and/or SAT
tests, cumulative grade point average in high school
, range of extracurricular activities, the nature of awards and honors achieved, and the information contained in the letters of reference. As a result of the screening a number of applicants are invited to become semifinalists and are interviewed at locations near their home on a Saturday in late January.
The results of the semi-finalist interviews are then tallied, and a number of semi-finalists are then invited to become finalists and to be interviewed at the Marshall University campus in Huntington, West Virginia
in late February. The finalist weekend includes (in addition to two sets of interviews) a tour of the university campus, the opportunity to meet with faculty from departments in which the finalist might wish to major, the chance to watch a home basketball
game in the Henderson Center (depending on the basketball schedule), and the opportunity to talk informally with the current scholars and with the staff of the Yeager program. The weekend is designed to give the finalists a chance to get acquainted with Marshall University and the Yeager Scholars program and to give the selection committee the opportunity to determine which of the finalists will be asked to become Yeager Scholars. Those selected to become Yeager Scholars will have until early April to accept the Society's invitation.
Those chosen receive a four-year scholarship that includes full tuition and fees; full room and board; study at Oxford University ; a stipend for textbooks and supplies; $7000 for an additional study abroad experience; and the use of a personal computer
while he or she is enrolled in the program.
The core curriculum is designed to assist each Yeager Scholar in developing skills in analysis, synthesis and critical thinking. Each scholar will be expected to demonstrate superior skills in written and oral communication. In order to remain in the Yeager Scholar's program, each student must maintain a cumulative 3.5 grade point average. Those who complete all academic requirements are awarded a Yeager medallion containing flecks of the same metal as the Bell X-1
.
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
, named in honor of Chuck Yeager
Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
, the first recorded pilot to break the sound barrier
Sound barrier
The sound barrier, in aerodynamics, is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. The term, which occasionally has other meanings, came into use during World War II, when a number of aircraft started to encounter the effects of compressibility, a collection of several...
.
General information
The scholarship was established to elevate the quality of academics at Marshall University and to honor Yeager, a local native who did not have the opportunity to attend college (see The Right StuffThe Right Stuff (book)
The Right Stuff is a 1979 book by Tom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program...
).
The Society of Yeager Scholars is a part of the academic program of Marshall University and comes under the direction of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Academic policy for the Yeager Scholars program is guided by a Steering Committee composed of university faculty. The Chair of the Steering Committee and the Director of the John R. Hall Center for Academic Excellence have a role in developing the curriculum, administering the budget, coordinating the international aspects of the program, and recruiting and advising of the scholars.
A Board of Directors, which includes politicians, business leaders, and former students, has been established to advise on policy, to promote the Society, to assist in recruiting students, and to be active in fund-raising. Permanent members of the Board of Directors are the President of Marshall University as well as the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement of the university. The Governor of West Virginia is an Ex-officio member of the board.
Funding for the Society of Yeager Scholars comes primarily from private money. An endowment in excess of $9.2 million supports the Yeager Scholars and is administered through the Marshall University Foundation.
Membership
Members of the society are selected through a highly-competitive interview process from high school seniors from throughout the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The process of selecting Yeager Scholars begins with an application made directly to the program and submitted by December 1st of each year. The application consists of information about each student's extracurricular activities, honors and awards, and includes personal essays. Each application must be accompanied by three letters of reference and a transcript of high school grades.
The applications are screened by a special committee of faculty and administrators and are evaluated on a system that takes into consideration scores on the ACT
ACT (examination)
The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...
and/or SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
tests, cumulative grade point average in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, range of extracurricular activities, the nature of awards and honors achieved, and the information contained in the letters of reference. As a result of the screening a number of applicants are invited to become semifinalists and are interviewed at locations near their home on a Saturday in late January.
The results of the semi-finalist interviews are then tallied, and a number of semi-finalists are then invited to become finalists and to be interviewed at the Marshall University campus in Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
in late February. The finalist weekend includes (in addition to two sets of interviews) a tour of the university campus, the opportunity to meet with faculty from departments in which the finalist might wish to major, the chance to watch a home basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
game in the Henderson Center (depending on the basketball schedule), and the opportunity to talk informally with the current scholars and with the staff of the Yeager program. The weekend is designed to give the finalists a chance to get acquainted with Marshall University and the Yeager Scholars program and to give the selection committee the opportunity to determine which of the finalists will be asked to become Yeager Scholars. Those selected to become Yeager Scholars will have until early April to accept the Society's invitation.
Those chosen receive a four-year scholarship that includes full tuition and fees; full room and board; study at Oxford University ; a stipend for textbooks and supplies; $7000 for an additional study abroad experience; and the use of a personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
while he or she is enrolled in the program.
Academic program
The academic program provided each Yeager Scholar is rigorous and demanding. The program consists of a number of elements:- A core of four interdisciplinary seminars, one each semester for the first two years. The seminars will cover communication and computers; humanities, texts and values; theories of science and statistics; and history and the arts.
- The development of a proficiency in a modern language.
- Additional courses in the natural and social sciences and in literature to round out the core curriculum of a scholar's program.
- In-depth study in a major or majors selected from those offered by the university.
- Independent study, guided by a mentor professor, leading to a senior project.
- Study abroad at Oxford University and in a country where the scholar's choice of a foreign language can be used in daily living.
- Community mentorships appropriate to the scholar's major, in government, business, industry or education.
The core curriculum is designed to assist each Yeager Scholar in developing skills in analysis, synthesis and critical thinking. Each scholar will be expected to demonstrate superior skills in written and oral communication. In order to remain in the Yeager Scholar's program, each student must maintain a cumulative 3.5 grade point average. Those who complete all academic requirements are awarded a Yeager medallion containing flecks of the same metal as the Bell X-1
Bell X-1
The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...
.