Newton resident Benjamin Governo Allar receives highest academic honor from Connecticut College

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Benjamin Governo Allar

NEW LONDON, CT (02/18/2013)(readMedia)-- Benjamin Governo Allar, a senior at Connecticut College, has been named a Winthrop Scholar, the highest academic honor bestowed by the college. Winthrop Scholars are members of the senior class who demonstrate exceptional scholarship and promise.

Allar, a 2009 graduate of Newton South High School, is the son of Marcia Allar of Newton and David Governo. At Connecticut College, Allar is a biological sciences and religious studies double major.

Allar was one of 14 Winthrop Scholars recognized at a ceremony Feb. 7. All have also been chosen for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the national honor society of undergraduate higher education, and will be initiated officially in May.

Connecticut College Dean of the Faculty Roger Brooks said the Winthrop Scholars have taken advantage of all that Connecticut College has to offer, including small classes, immersive learning, rigorous and challenging capstones, honors theses and senior integrative projects.

"These pedagogical processes are magical and transformative, producing in each of you a graduate interested in and prepared to take on the problems of the 21st century," Brooks said to the honorees at the ceremony.

Connecticut College instituted the practice of honoring Winthrop Scholars in May 1928. The award is named for John Winthrop the Younger (1606-1676), who is credited with founding the city of New London and served as governor of Connecticut. He was a remarkable scholar, one of the most learned and versatile men in New England.

About Connecticut College

Connecticut College is a private, highly selective liberal arts college with 1,850 students and more than 40 majors in the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities, as well as the option for students to self-design majors. The College offers a high level of intellectual challenge, a campus culture that supports students to tailor their educational experience to their own interests and goals, and a four-year career development program that teaches students how to translate a liberal arts degree into a first job or graduate school admission. Connecticut College is situated in the small New England seaport of New London. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.