Student's essay on U.S. policy and the poor wins University of Kansas Whitcomb Prize

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Luke Brinker

LAWRENCE, KS (02/06/2012)(readMedia)-- Luke Brinker, Topeka junior majoring in history at the University of Kansas, was honored Jan. 20 as winner of the 2011 Philip W. Whitcomb Memorial Essay Prize for his essay examining fundamental questions about contemporary American public policy and the poor.

Gilliam Whitcomb of Paris, France, daughter of the late Philip Whitcomb, formally presented the prize to Brinker in a ceremony at KU's Nunemaker Center for his essay, "Politics and the Moral Purpose."

Although the $500 prize was awarded in fall 2011, the ceremonial presentation was scheduled when Whitcomb could be in the United States. In congratulating Brinker, she presented him with two books by historian Tony Judt.

About 30 people attended the presentation, including Brinker's parents, Stephanie and Mark Brinker of Topeka.

Brinker's essay focused on the evolution of U.S. politics in the 20th century. U.S. politics is usually the subject of a column that he writes for the student newspaper, the University Daily Kansan.

Jack Bricke, KU professor of philosophy who serves on the selection committee for the prize, described Brinker's essay as "well-crafted prose, and with impressive clarity and integrity in the development of his argument."

Brinker attributes his interest in politics to his experiences as a debate team member at Topeka High School. He plans to earn a doctorate in history and teach at a university. He has completed a honors thesis in history – a study of Cold War anti-communism and the politicization of anti-intellectualism. His research adviser is Jeffrey Moran, associate professor of history.

In addition Brinker is a Hall Center Scholar and serves on the Dole Institute student advisory board. He is a member of the University Honors Program and the University Scholars Program. He entered KU with a Summerfield Scholarship, one of the university's most prestigious scholarships. He spent June 2011 in England taking courses on British literature, art and culture though KU's British Summer Institute in the Humanities.

The Philip W. Whitcomb Memorial Essay Contest is open to any KU undergraduate and has taken place annually since 1988 in the spring term. Typically, the prize is awarded when the new fall term begins. The winner's name is inscribed on the Whitcomb plaque in Nunemaker Center.

The essay contest honors Philip W. Whitcomb (1891-1986), who earned a doctorate in philosophy at age 89 at KU in 1981. A journalist by trade, Whitcomb received a bachelor's degree in 1910 from Washburn University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University from 1911 to 1914. His career as a European journalist spanned 64 years and 17 countries. As an Associated Press correspondent, he covered the first and second World Wars. He also was a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, Baltimore Sun, New York Tribune and Boston Evening Transcript. Upon his retirement from the Christian Science Monitor in 1978, he entered KU's Graduate School.

The prize fund is managed by KU Endowment, the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management foundation for KU.