NORTON, Mass. -Alexander K. Dewar, a senior who is studying political science and plans to pursue a career in climate change policy, was on Saturday named Wheaton’s third Rhodes Scholar in five years.

November 19, 2005

NORTON, Mass.-Alexander K. Dewar, a Wheaton College senior who is studying political science and plans to pursue a career in climate change policy, was named a Rhodes Scholar for 2006 today. Dewar is one of 32 college students nationwide to earn the honor, and the third Wheaton student in the past five years to win the prestigious award.

The senior from Portland, Oregon, is a longtime student of sustainable development at home and abroad, and hopes to further his passion for conservation with advanced work in environmental change and management at Oxford. In his personal statement to the Rhodes selection committee, Dewar wrote about his recent Davis Fellowship in Uganda, where he journeyed to teach sustainable agriculture and ended up founding a community nursery school. ''As I have learned through the political process,'' he wrote, ''real change can only occur when it is influenced and decided upon by those who are affected.''

''This is exciting news for Alex and for the college,'' said Wheaton President Ronald A. Crutcher. ''His exemplary leadership, on campus and off, illustrates the college's mission to prepare globally-competent graduates. The fact that he is the third Wheaton student in the past five years to win the Rhodes confirms that the college and our students are meeting the world's challenges.''

President of Wheaton's Student Government Association for two years, Dewar earned a 3.93 grade-point average at Wheaton. An Eagle Scout, he is also the recipient of several national awards, including the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and membership in Phi Kappa. He holds memberships in several campus organizations-College Democrats, WCCS radio, Model U.N., the Environmental Club and others- and works both as an Admissions intern and a barista at the Lyons Den Coffee House.

''Alex's passion for public affairs is evident in course work and all of his activities,'' said Wheaton Political Science Professor Darlene Boroviak. ''It is quite apparent that civic engagement is central to his life. For example, when Wheaton mistakenly stopped its recycling efforts, Alex did the research and led the fight to show that it was economically feasible and environmentally necessary to re-establish our program. Alex reveals his commitments by acting on them.''

Internships have played a broad role in the development of Dewar's professional interests. Even before matriculating at Wheaton Dewar worked for U.S. Rep. David Wu of Oregon as a fundraiser and event volunteer. He completed two internships with 1000 Friends of Oregon-where he studied the impact of urban sprawl on the environment-before directing political canvassing for the Oregon Bus Project in 2004. In summer 2005, Dewar used a Davis Fellowship to travel to Lwakhakha, Uganda, to teach sustainable agriculture with the Foundation for Sustainable Development, a nongovernmental organization (NGO). While living in the remote village with a host family, Dewar determined that rural families needed childcare support in order to farm and/or work. From Uganda, he coordinated a fundraising effort in the United States and built the village's first nursery school.

Dewar and the other Rhodes Scholars will enter the University of Oxford in England in October 2006. Rhodes Scholarships provide two or three years of study at Oxford. The Rhodes Scholarships, oldest of the international study awards available to American students, were created in 1902 by the Will of Cecil Rhodes, British philanthropist and colonial pioneer. The first class of American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904.

Wheaton students have won a number of prestigious academic awards in recent years. Beyond the three Rhodes Scholars, Wheaton students also have won the British Marshall, Goldwater, Beinecke, Trumans, Fulbrights, Rotary Ambassadorial scholarships, Udalls, James Madison Fellowships and an American Council for International Education scholarship. The Institute for International Education recently recognized Wheaton as one of the top liberal arts colleges producing Fulbright scholars, and the Truman Foundation named Wheaton an Honor Institution.

PHOTOS: Visit http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/News/rhodes_dewar.html to download high-resolution images of Alex Dewar.