2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the Presidential Ambassador Scholar Award. Since its inception, a student from each of the Health Science Center’s five schools has received a $1,000 scholarship award. This year, the scholarship award has been raised to $2,000.
In 1988, Mr. W. Frank Elston, then Vice President for University Relations, established the award program, which was originally funded through the generosity of the H-E-B Grocery Company, the Friends of UT Health Science Center and the Fiesta de Tejas Committee and which is now exclusively funded by the Health Science Center’s President’s Council. The ambassadors are selected by the deans of each of their schools to represent their schools and the Health Science Center. In addition to receiving a scholarship, these outstanding students are asked to represent the student body at several distinguished events throughout the year, including the Presidential Distinguished Lecture, the annual visit by the Executive Vice Chancellor of the UT System, and the Presidential Awards Ceremony, among others.
The Presidential Ambassador Scholar Award has been extremely successful with selections of exemplary students who have been outstanding in representing their schools and the Health Science Center.