50th Anniversary of the Marshall Scholarships 2003

---

Almost 100
current and former Marshall Scholars gathered along with scores of distinguished guests for a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Scholarships and the presentation of the first Marshall Medals on 19 November. The ceremony, which took place in the elegant Senate House at the University of London, was hosted by Christianne Amanpour and Jeremy Paxman.

The keynote address at the event was delivered by Thomas Friedman, the foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times, and a former Marshall Scholar. Friedman praised the long-standing "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom and argued for the maintenance and strengthening of programs like the Marshall Scholarship which contribute to strong trans-Atlantic ties.

The Marshall Medals, intended to commemorate the achievements of distinguished Americans who have contributed to some aspect of US/UK relations were awarded to politicians, scientists, journalists, jurists and academics. In addition to Friedman, medals were awarded to Ray Dolby, former Marshall Scholar and inventor of digital sound technologies, Nannerl Keohane, former Marshall and president of Duke University, and former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, now Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, who facilitated the peace process in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a former Marshall Scholar, Christopher Makins, President of the Marshall Sherfield Foundation, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell were awarded medals but were unable to attend the ceremony.

HRH The Prince of Wales delighted the crowd with a brief speech in which he joked that "I am very proud to be the honourary patron of the Marshall Scholarships...although I have no idea why I am the honourary patron considering my own academic record." At the reception after the event many Marshall scholars took the opportunity to speak individually with Prince Charles, who mingled cheerfully with the crowd.

Current scholars also gathered informally before and after the event with former Marshall Scholars including Time magazine's London bureau chief, J.F.O. Macallister and medal winner Thomas Friedman. The former scholars shared stories of their time as students in England and reflected on their careers.

"Meeting successful Marshalls gives us something to aspire to," said Vipin Narang, a second-year Marshall from Stanford who is studying International Relations at Oxford.

Chairman of the Marshall Commission, Jonathan Taylor, promised that the Marshall Scholarship would continue to add to the collection of 1400 Americans who have spent time studying in the UK as Marshall Scholars over the last five decades.