Awards, Honors and Scholarships

Established by Mrs. Helen Cavitt Smith to honor her late husband, Edmund "Arthur" Smith and the work he did, along with the commitment by both of them to the study of political government and economy, this award is presented to a junior or senior Politics major, in good academic standing, who is considering pursuing graduate studies in political science, political economy and/or government.

Arthur began college in the 1930s, after enduring treatment for polio, earning a BA and a MA from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard. Arthur taught for 14 years at the University of Washington Graduate School of Social Work before moving to Dallas, Oregon, where he wrote a regular column called "One Man's Meat" for the weekly Dallas newspaper. Arthur died May 29, 1989.

Helen was a professional social worker, working in private practice until her retirement in 1973. Friends of Willamette University, Arthur and Helen Smith were married for 44 years.

2024-2025
Ceph Tronco & Tyler Dickinson

2023-2024
Dulasi Tennakoon

2022-2023
Sarah Henry

2021-2022
Ian Curtis & Cole Fetherston

2020-2021
Andrew Hull & Thomas Verner

2019-2020
Sarah Dean & Giovanni Bautista

2018-2019
Megan Pratt & McKenna Aune

2017-2018
Quinlyn Manfull & Rosalind Fraser

2016-2017
Sam Coren & Derek Kennedy

2015-2016
Cheyenne Boon

2014-2015
Madison Immel & Dylan Sheldon

2013-2014
Audrey Mechling & Aaron Haynes

2012-2013
Maxfield Peterson & Lauren Vermilion

2011-2012
Amy Mills & Amanda Beggs

2010-2011
Erin Bloom & Heidi Hall

2009-2010
Arianna Alibabaie & Ben Schreiner

2008-2009
Brett Dahlberg

2007-2008
Jessica Tissell
Ildiko Hrubos

2006-2007
Brenton Clark
Alexandra Frackelton

2005-2006
Dawn Albert

1999-2000
Courtney Gregoire
Joseph Scherer

2004-2005
Sarah Chalmers

1998-1999
Dustin Buehler
Jared Rieger

2003-2004
Lesley Meyer

1997-1998
Travis Brouwer
Alexis Walker

2002-2003
Katie Christensen

1996-1997
Matthew Hindman
Jennifer Heidt

2001-2002
Lynn Miyahira

1995-1996
Elizabeth Simson

2000-2001
Russell Bither-Terry

1994-1995
Malaika Eaton

Established by Mrs. Antoinette Hatfield in honor of her husband, Mark Odom, class of 1943. This scholarship is given annually to an undergraduate student majoring in Politics who demonstrates outstanding academic ability, responsible performance, qualities of character and leadership worthy of emulation.

After graduating from Willamette, Hatfield spent time in the U.S. Navy, where he witnessed first hand the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. After his discharge from the Navy, Hatfield earned a master's degree in political science from Stanford University.

In 1950, Hatfield returned to Willamette University to teach political science and serve as dean of students. Hatfield went on to lead a prolific life in public service, including eight years as the youngest person to serve as Governor of Oregon, and thirty years as a United States senator. Senator Hatfield retired in 1996, having never lost an election.

2024-2025
Suzan Nuri & Will LaDucca

2023-2024
Bella Montalvo & Sawyer Garrison

2022-2023
Ainsley Moench

2021-2022
Kegan Rascoe

2020-2021
Jesse Buck

2019-2020
Lucia Mosca

2018-2019
Leah Olson

2017-2018
Adrian Uphoff

2016-2017
Ira Cuello-Martinez

2015-2016
Brennan Butler

2014-2015
Samuel Gonzales

2013-2014
Taylor Wells

2012-2013
Nathaniel Quinn

2011-2012
Laura Curtis & Elizabeth Calixtro

2010-2011
Liwu Gan, Edgar Mendez & Maxwell Mensinger

2009-2010
Heidi Hunt & Hanna Connett

2008-2009
Gregory R Alderson

2007-2008
Michael Dougal
Leah Sauter

2006-2007
Anne Gerhard
Sarah Tofflemire

2005-2006
Raino Isto
Katie Johannsen

2004-2005
Matthew Buehler

2003-2004
Kara Forsyth
Katharine D'Ambrosio
Hannah Meisen-Vehrs

2002-2003
Benjamin Peterson

2001-2002
Jarrod Howard

2000-2001
Lars Stringham

1999-2000
Maegan Lindsay

1998-1999
Erin Dougherty

1997-1998
Rayona Weber

1996-1997
Benjamin Worsley

1995-1996
Shaila Djurovich

1994-1995
Kara Ritzheimer

1989-1990
Edward Waggoner

Carson Grants are available to students who would like to spend a summer researching a scholarly, creative, or professional subject, with the guidance and aid of a faculty sponsor. Generally, 10 grants of up to $3000 each are awarded each year. Students may apply for grants individually or jointly with other students. Once the projects are complete, the students present their findings to the campus community. Politics majors who have received this award are listed below.

How to apply

Past Winners

2005-2006
Alexis Walker
Frederick Douglass' Tour of Ireland and the Transatlantic Abolitionist Movement Faculty Sponsor: Richard Ellis

2000-2001
Devadatta Gandhi
Iraqis in Jordan and the Insufficient International Refugee Concept
Faculty Sponsor: Joe Bowersox

Maegan Lindsay
Pioneering on the Health Care Frontier: An Application of the Deliberative Democracy Justice Theory to the Case Study of the Oregon Health Plan
Faculty Sponsor: Sammy Basu

1997-1998
Travis Brouwer
The New Politics of Community: The Origins, Principles, and Influence of Political Communitarianism
Faculty Sponsor: Robert Hawkinson

Caty Haber
Las Desaparecideas de Democracia (The Disappeared of Democracy)
Faculty Sponsor: Sammy Basu

1995-1996
Tiffany Ellis and Kara Ritzheimer
Bentham Comes to America: The Hidden Influences of Jeremy Bentham on America Political and Legal Thought
Faculty Sponsor: Sammy Basu

1993-1994
Ami Korsunsky
From Argentina to Birobidzhan: Argentine Jewish Participation in the Establishment of a Jewish Homeland in the Soviet Far East.
Faculty Sponsor: Richard Spielman

1992-1993
Stephen Kirk
A History of the Theory of the Presidential Mandate
Faculty Sponsor: Richard Ellis

1991-1992
Laura Zinniker
Race as a Determinant of French Immigration Policy
Faculty Sponsor: Suresht Bald