2 KU seniors win national Morris K. Udall Scholarships

LAWRENCE -- Two University of Kansas students each have won one of 80 national $5,000 Morris K. Udall Scholarships, established to attract students into careers in environmental public policy, health care or tribal public policy.

The winners for the 2002-2003 academic year are:

 • Nicole M. Hipp, senior majoring in architecture, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Hipp, 3157 Crystal Lake Drive, St. Louis, Mo. She is an Oakville Senior High School graduate.

 • Shane J. McCall, senior majoring in environmental science and in sociology, son of Mary Jean McCall, 7527 Madison Ave., Kansas City, Mo. He is a Washburn Rural High School graduate.

Congress established the scholarship program in 1992 to honor Congressman Udall and his legacy of public service. The Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation in Tucson, Ariz., administers the program.

KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway said: "Nicole and Shane are prime examples of KU students who care deeply about the environment and structure their academic programs and goals to have an impact on our world. They are truly deserving of the Udall Scholarships."

Eight KU students including Hipp and McCall have won Udall Scholarships since 1998.

Biographical information about the winners follows.

Nicole Marie Hipp is a senior planning to graduate in May 2004 from KU's five-year architecture program. Her career goal is to establish an architectural design firm that focuses on sustainable design for residential and community use. She said, "I envision a time when our homes will produce rather than consume energy and when a building will be erected without cutting down a single tree. Neighborhoods will be able to reuse water from the laundry to water their lawns and utilize the sun to heat their homes." Her long-range goal is to promote building standards that will serve to preserve natural resources. This summer she will intern for a St. Louis architecture firm that specializes in low-income, energy-efficient housing. She received the Goldsmith Award last spring from the KU School of Architecture and Urban Design for the highest grade-point average in her class. She is a recipient of the Kansas/Missouri Reciprocity Scholarship for Architecture, a five-year scholarship.

Shane J. McCall is a senior planning to graduate in May 2003 with degrees in environmental science and in sociology. His academic career goal is to become an environmental sociologist, teaching at a major research university. With this goal, McCall plans to be able to teach how society affects the environment; provide lawmakers policy advice on environmental programs; and provide education to the public through community workshops. "My goal is to figure out how humans can sustain our current living standards and population without using up all our resources," McCall wrote in his application. McCall has served a one-year appointment on the Lawrence Recycling and Resource Conservation Advisory Board. He is a National Merit Scholar and a recipient of the Ruben Zadigen Environmental Studies Scholarship at KU.