A senior from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the first University of Illinois student in more than 10 years to be awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for graduate study in the United Kingdom.
Ian Clausen, a Wheaton, Ill., native majoring in religious studies and English, will begin studying in fall 2008 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to earn advanced degrees in theology and ethics and heresiology and ethics. He is one of roughly 40 American college students chosen for the highly selective, all-expenses-paid scholarship.
Clausen says his interest in theology and ethics—and the separation between them, as well as their political aspects—caught fire at the U of I when he took a course in early Christianity from Richard Layton, an associate professor of religious studies. Hence, in Edinburgh Clausen will study heresy in the early church and how it was an issue of both doctrine and ethics. He sees the idea as a launching pad into current topics facing churches.
The Marshall Scholarship Program started in 1953 as a way for the British government to show appreciation for American efforts—the Marshall Plan in particular—to rebuild the UK and Europe after World War II. Since 1954, about 1,400 Americans, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, have completed graduate work in the UK as Marshall Scholars.
"We're of course very proud of Ian," says Layton, who wrote a letter of recommendation for Clausen. "It takes a tremendous amount of determination and also humility to see the process through. Ian did a great job, but so did David Schug (program director for Scholarships for International Study) to get all the materials together."
Clausen says the application process lasted for months. First he was endorsed by the U of I, and then he wrote a 1,000-word personal statement that required several revisions to balance personal and intellectual observations. At U of I, Clausen is in the Campus Honors Program and is an LAS James Scholar.
"That was hard even for an English major," Clausen says. He received thorough and candid help from faculty and staff, however, and Marshall administrators selected him for an interview. In the end he was chosen out of a field of more than 1,000 applicants.
The Marshall program is looking for "difference makers," according to Schug, who says that is exactly what Clausen is. "Most students come to college and say, some day I want to do this or that. Ian came here and began doing things right away. He is a standout student, on a campus with many standout students, who will do great things in his life."
Clausen foresees exciting times, as he'll be studying near many English scholars who have moved north in recent years to areas around Edinburgh. Studies there are very cutting-edge, he says. He plans to earn a master's degree through the program, and then he'd like to stay at the university to earn a doctoral degree.
For a man in the early stages of answering some of life's deepest questions, one thing is straightforward and certain—Clausen's goal.
"I'd like to work in a university as a professor," Clausen says. "I'd love to teach and lecture and write books."
