Left: Roberto Ponce Velez, 2024 Udall Scholar (Environment)

Right: Eliza Porter, 2024 Udall Honorable Mention (Tribal Public Policy)

(May 7, 2024) Roberto Ponce Velez, an OSU junior in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences has been named a 2024 Udall Scholar in the Environment category.  Additionally, Eliza Porter has been recognized by the Udall Foundation with an Honorable Mention in the Tribal Public Policy category. Eliza is a junior majoring in Environmental Sciences.         

The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) announced on May 3rd that 55 students from 50 colleges and universities have been selected as 2024 Udall Scholars. An 18-member independent review committee selected this year's group of Udall Scholars on the basis of commitment to careers in the environment, Tribal public policy, or Native health care; leadership potential; record of public service; and academic achievement. The review committee also awarded 55 Honorable Mentions.

The newest class of Udall Scholars was selected from 406 candidates nominated by 192 colleges and universities. Thirty-seven Scholars intend to pursue careers related to the environment, nine Native American/Alaska Native Scholars intend to pursue careers related to Tribal public policy, and nine Native American/Alaska Native Scholars intend to pursue careers related to Native health care.

Each scholarship provides up to $7,000 for eligible academic expenses for the Scholar’s junior or senior year of academic study. Since the program’s inception in 1996, the Udall Foundation has awarded 1,953 Udall Scholarships totaling over $10.360 million and 1,344 Honorable Mentions.

The 2024 Udall Scholars will connect August 6-10 for the annual Udall Scholar Orientation to meet one another and program alumni; learn more about the Udall legacy of public service; and interact with community leaders in environmental fields, Tribal health care, and governance.

More Information
For more information about the Udall Scholarship for OSU students, please contact LeAnn Adam, Director, National and Global Scholarships Advising and visit the Udall Foundation website.   Meet the 2024 Scholars.

Selected 2024 Udall Applicant Statistics

  • 406 eligible applicants were nominated by their academic institution.
  • 341 students applied in the Environmental category, 34 in Tribal Public Policy, and 31 in Native Health Care.
  • 404 applicants came from four-year institutions and two came from two-year colleges.
  • 118 Sophomores and 288 Juniors.
  • 192 institutions nominated students; two schools nominated students for the first time.
  • Nominees came from 48 states,  one territory, and 30 Tribes and Alaska Native Villages.

Scholar Statistics

  • 55 Scholars and 55 Honorable Mentions were selected.
  • 37 Scholarships were awarded in the Environmental category, nine in Tribal Public Policy, and nine in Native Health Care.
  • 10 Sophomores and 45 Juniors.
  • One Scholar was also a Scholar in 2023; six Scholars were Honorable Mentions in 2023.
  • 50 institutions have Scholars; two of those have Scholars for the first time and 20 have Scholars for the first time in three or more years.
  • Scholars come from 28 states and 13 Tribes.

About the Udall Foundation
The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 as an independent executive branch agency to honor Morris K. Udall's lasting impact on this Nation’s environment, public lands, and natural resources, and his support of the rights and self-governance of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to also honor Stewart L. Udall for his half century of distinguished national leadership in environmental and Native American policy. The agency is known today as the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.