For Immediate Release

Contact:	
		Director, Public Relations
		(909) 621-8219
		nina_mason@pitzer.edu


Pitzer College Nominates 2 Rhodes Scholars

Claremont, Calif. - Oct. 19, 2001 -- Based on their excellent academic records 
and leadership, two Pitzer College seniors -- Siobhan O'Hara and Brett Hamilton -- have 
been nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship, the oldest and most prestigious international 
fellowship in the world. 

O'Hara, a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, is a double major in art and 
environmental studies at Pitzer College. O'Hara, who served as captain of the highly 
successful Claremont women's rugby team, also undertook an external studies program 
in Venezuela.  If selected, Siobhan plans to pursue a Master of Studies degree in the 
history of art and visual culture at Oxford.

Hamilton, an economics major, is from Palo Alto, Calif.  At Pitzer, he is a student 
member of the Faculty Executive Committee and has been extensively involved in 
student governance.  He also undertook an external studies program in Russia. If selected, 
Hamilton plans to pursue a Master of Philosophy degree in economics at Oxford.

"Pitzer does not nominate very many students for the Rhodes Scholarship, but 
those students we do nominate tend to do very well in the Rhodes competition," said 
Nigel Boyle, associate professor of political studies and the Rhodes Trust institutional 
representative for Pitzer.

Pitzer's last successful Rhodes nominee was Juan DeLara of Upland, Calif., who 
graduated in 1997. 

"In addition to our 1997 winner, we have had several students make it to the state 
and regional finals, which is a tremendous achievement," Boyle noted.  "Our students 
tend to stand out from the crowd by having done something unusual: an interesting 
combination of majors; study abroad in Katmandu or Gaberone rather than Paris or 
Florence; or service on the Faculty Executive Committee.  Regarding the latter, we often 
forget how much outsiders are impressed (or shocked) by the fact that students vote on all 
tenure decisions here."

Pitzer also has nominated O'Hara for the Marshall Scholarship (for two years of 
study at a British university) and the Mitchell Scholarship (for two years of study at an 
Irish university).

The Rhodes Scholarships were initiated after the death of British imperialist and 
business magnate Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many 
countries around the world to Oxford. The first American Scholars were elected in 1904. 
Each year, 32 Rhodes Scholars are selected from the United States to study at Oxford 
University.

####

Pitzer College, a member of The Claremont Colleges, offers 40 major fields in the liberal 
arts and sciences with an emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, cultural immersion, social 
responsibility and community service.