The Theodore Roosevelt Scholars Program
at Medaille College

The Theodore Roosevelt Scholars Program at Medaille College is an innovative learning community in which students of demonstrated academic ability can enhance their skills for thinking critically and creatively about challenging ideas. The Program combines honors-level General Education courses with special mentoring activities that, in the tradition of Theodore Roosevelt, seek to develop the student’s mind, body, and spirit while encouraging intellectual rigor, physical vigor, and moral and social commitment. Roosevelt was not only a renowned U.S. President inaugurated right here in Buffalo, a governor of New York State, and a Police Commissioner of New York City, but also a Nobel Peace Prize-winning statesman, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and a prominent orator, historian, conservationist, rancher, naturalist, and explorer. His energetic and complex life thus inspires our Program, which challenges its students to engage wholeheartedly in the exhilarating pursuit of excellence.

Coursework

The heart of the Scholars Program is a set of nine honors-level liberal arts and sciences courses developed and taught by a dedicated and enthusiastic faculty. These courses are part of Medaille’s General Education Core, and thus fulfill requirements for all of the school’s baccalaureate programs. This means that students from any major can participate in the Program without having to take extra courses beyond their regular graduation requirements.

Without question, the honors-level sections of these courses are challenging; we designed them to fulfill the needs of students with the ability and the motivation to thrive in such demanding academic environments. We also designed them to connect important topics and skills that are not just introduced once and forgotten, but reinforced in multiple courses. Close faculty collaboration has thus produced a unique, integrated sequence of courses aimed at developing a deep understanding of the General Education Core’s leading ideas. Students seeking entry into demanding career fields or selective graduate schools will find these critical thinking and communication skills crucial to their success.

Mentoring

Medaille College is proud of its reputation for having small classes and a low student-to-faculty ratio. So, as Medaille students, it is natural for Theodore Roosevelt Scholars to maintain close contact with their professors. They also receive formal and informal mentoring through a variety of special events intended to bring faculty and students together outside the classroom. Receptions, presentations, and other activities are all planned to foster a true learning community whose members share academic and non-academic interests; for instance, our faculty includes individuals passionate not only about the arts and sciences, but also about physical and outdoor pursuits such as martial arts, fencing, fly fishing, and cycling.

Other Benefits

Besides these classroom and mentoring opportunities, students participating in the Theodore Roosevelt Scholars Program are eligible for special honors scholarships in addition to whatever other scholarship aid they may qualify for. Furthermore, Scholars students have access to our distinguished guests and speakers during on-campus visits. They also benefit from a flexible registration procedure that ensures their enrollment in honors courses on schedule and in sequence. Finally, students in the Scholars Program receive special library benefits to support intensive, honors-level study, and they earn official recognition of their achievements at graduation.

Admission Requirements

Presently, incoming Trustee and Presidential Scholarship recipients with strong SAT scores receive automatic invitation into the Program. Other students with academic records or SAT scores indicative of honors potential receive automatic consideration for the Program by a faculty committee. Students who do not receive automatic invitation or consideration need not be discouraged, though, as our Program also welcomes applications from other interested and qualified students. Those who wish to apply should write to our Director (address below) to explain their qualifications and make their strongest case for admission into the Program. Upon receiving such applications, we will review the pertinent academic records and test scores before making our Program admissions decisions.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more about our Program, or are interested in applying, please return the attached reply card. You can also contact our Director, Dr. Lee Nisbet, or our Coordinator, Dr. Gerald J. Erion, by telephone at (716) 884-3281 or (800)292-1582. Thank you for your interest in the Theodore Roosevelt Scholars Program; we look forward to hearing from you.