Gay Activist
Named a 2008 Rhodes Scholar

An LGBT organizer was among 32 men and women from across the United States who have been selected as Rhodes Scholars for 2008, the scholarship trust announced Sunday.

The scholars were selected from 764 applicants endorsed by 294 colleges and universities. The scholarships, the oldest of the international study awards available to American students, provide two or three years of study. The students will enter Oxford University in England next October.

This year's winners include Brett T. Masters of Charlotte, Mich., a senior at Princeton where he majors in comparative literature. Masters was a finalist for the national Dante prize of the Dante Society of America and has won prizes in the humanities and in writing.

He writes for the Daily Princetonian, was an organizer of the Gay Family Rights Project, and tutors with two local groups. At Oxford he plans to focus on medieval studies.

Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential, and physical vigor, among other attributes.

The American students will join an international group of scholars selected from 13 other jurisdictions around the world. Approximately 85 scholars are selected each year.

The value of the Rhodes Scholarship varies depending on the field of study. The total value averages about $45,000 per year.

With the elections announced Sunday, 3,142 Americans have won Rhodes Scholarships, representing 307 colleges and universities. (AP)