3/24/98

ATHENS, Ohio -- Donna Ellis of Greenfield has been awarded the 1998-99 Wilfred R. Konneker-Manasseh Cutler Scholars Award, a four-year scholarship paying tuition, room and board at Ohio University.

The Manasseh Cutler Scholars Program, modeled on Oxford University's Rhodes Scholars program for graduate students, emphasizes the development of recipients' leadership potential. The four-year, scholarship provides full tuition, room and board and includes a stipend to cover structured summer internships and travel.

Ellis is the daughter of David and Deborah Ellis. She is a senior at McClain High School in Greenfield and one of 15 Cutler Scholars who will attend classes on the Athens campus this fall. She is a Student Council officer, a member of the National Honor Society, president of her school's National Art Honor Society chapter and has earned varsity letters in basketball, swimming and track.

To be considered for the Wilfred R. Konneker Cutler award, a student must be nominated by McClain High School. The school nominates two to five students, who are then reviewed by an Area Selection Committee of alumni and friends of Ohio University. Two finalists are then interviewed on the Athens campus by the Cutler Scholars Selection Committee.

"To be considered as a Cutler Scholar, one should be a serious student of physical vigor who exhibits a moral strength of character that is translated into scholastic pursuits and ultimately into community involvement," says Charles J. Ping, Ohio University president emeritus and executive director of the Manasseh Cutler Scholars Program.

Wilfred R. Konneker, a graduate of McClain High School and Ohio University, was a pioneer in the field of nuclear medicine. A benefactor of many programs and projects at Ohio University, Konneker established the Cutler Scholars Award in hi s name to be given annually to a graduate of McClain High School who plans to attend Ohio University.