Meagan Harris, a graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded the 2014 U.S. Senator Phil Gramm Doctoral Fellowship.
Harris received the fellowship based on her outstanding academic record and contributions in research, teaching and mentoring, noted Associate Provost for Graduate Studies Karen Butler-Purry in a congratulatory letter to Harris. As a 2014 Gramm Fellow, Harris, who is advised by Assistant Professor Kristen Maitland, will receive a cash award of $5,000 and a framed certificate.
“Meagan has excelled at balancing research and training,” Maitland said. “She has mentored more than 10 undergraduates in research, with all graduates continuing their research careers in graduate school and many earning fellowships and awards of their own. She has had a lasting impact on her mentees and colleagues.”
The Gramm Fellowship promotes, encourages and rewards outstanding teaching and research by doctoral students whose command of their respective disciplines exemplifies the meaning of scholar/mentor in the highest sense. Students who are awarded this fellowship excel in both research and teaching.
In 2007, the university’s Office of Graduate Studies began awarding deserving graduate students with the fellowship from an endowment created by the Texas A&M Foundation. The endowment was created from donations given in honor of Gramm, who, in addition to leading a distinguished legislative career, served as professor of economics at Texas A&M.
Gramm spent two decades serving in the U.S. Congress and Senate, using his economic and financial expertise to create important laws and policies, and to provide advice to legislators and the White House. Gramm is senior partner of Gramm Partners, a public policy firm in Washington, D.C.