Chris Pavasaris Nominated For Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships

STORRS, Conn. (March 5, 2006) — University of Connecticut junior punter Chris Pavasaris (Needham, Mass.) has been nominated by the University for the prestigious Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships.

The Rhodes Scholarship, the world’s oldest international fellowship program dating to 1904, has annually brought eager scholars to famed Oxford University, a London institution which dates back to the 12th century. Noteworthy Rhodes Scholars include former President Bill Clinton along with U.S. Senator, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, Bill Bradley.

Similar to the Rhodes, the Marshall Scholarship affords an opportunity for a few highly selective Americans to study at a variety of universities in the United Kingdom. The Marshall Scholarships were founded by the British Parliament in 1953 to commemorate the Marshall Plan, in which the United States helped the countries of Western Europe rebuild after the destruction of World War II. Prominent past Marshall Scholars include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Tom Friedman of The New York Times and Dan Yergin.

“It’s very exciting,” said Pavasaris who maintains a 3.9 grade point average. “I’ve always prided myself on doing the best that I can in the classroom. I submitted my application with the hope of just getting to the interview stage. To now get past that and be formally nominated is a great honor to me.

“The program is of great interest to me and I would love to study in England. I am a political science major with an emphasis on law and government. To be abroad in England and study British common law is what sparked my interest in these programs. To possibly have the chance to do it through such a prestigious award is an amazing thing to me. If I was to receive it, this would be a great stepping stone for my career. It would mean getting one of the top educations anywhere in the legal world and I would also be able to do research on an individual one-on-one basis with a professor at the university. It would be a simply invaluable opportunity.”

“This is a tremendous honor for Chris as well as for our program,” UConn head football coach Randy Edsall said. “Chris is an outstanding young man who displays all of the discipline and talent that it takes to receive such an honor. He is a hard working, conscientious student who epitomizes what the phrase student-athlete is truly about.”

“We are proud of Chris and his commitment to academic excellence,” said UConn Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway. “This honor reinforces our continuing mission for excellence and reflects the outstanding student-athletes who represent our great university. Chris’ nomination is yet another superb example of academic accomplishment by our student-athletes.”

Pavasaris and fellow undergraduate Amy Vanheuverzwyn (Glastonbury, Conn.) were chosen from a pool of students through a process coordinated by Professor Kathryn Strother Ratcliff, UConn’s Office of National Scholarships Director. That office is part of the Enrichment Programs, a unit under Provost Peter Nicholls. After submitting essays and a transcript for review, a three-member faculty committee conducted 40-minute interviews with each nominee. The group was under no obligation to select any of the candidates but chose both Pavasaris and Vanheuverzwyn. The pair will be mentored over the next six months on their writing and interview skills along with spending time in specialized discussion groups in anticipation of their formal October scholarship applications. An Oxford panel will choose roughly 100 applicants out of the anticipated 1,000 for an interview and then select 32 Rhodes Scholarship recipients. The Marshall Scholarship procedure in similar with an October application that can lead to a November interview and then the selection of at least 40 recipients.

On the field, Pavasaris took over as UConn’s starting punter mid-way through the Nov. 2 game at West Virginia and maintained that role through the final three games of the 2005 season. He punted 26 times for a 36.5-yard average with nine of the 26 sticking inside the 20 yard line. He was named the BIG EAST Special Team Player of the Week following UConn’s game against Louisville on Dec. 3 when he killed four of his seven punts at the Cardinals’ 10 yard line or better, forcing U of L to start drives from its own three, eight, one and 10. His career-long boot of 60 yards during that game was UConn’s longest punt since 2003.