Spartanburg’s Louise Franke, a Clemson University senior, is the school’s first-ever Rhodes Scholar.
Franke, an Honors College student, is one of 32 American Rhodes Scholars selected through an intensive application and interview process.
Franke is majoring in biochemistry with minors in political science and philosophy. She plans to pursue a joint M.D.-Ph.D. in bioethics and then practice as a physician while forging a career as a bioethicist in the public policy and academic realms.
“The Rhodes community is an intellectual community where people care about ideas, about action and about the world,” said Franke. “It’s a group of people that fight the world’s fight, and the fact that I’m now part of that blows my mind. It’s a dream come true.”
Franke has served as a student researcher within the Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC) at Clemson University and a Political Studies Fellow at the Hudson Institute, where she participated in a study of politics and political philosophy.
She has also served in a variety of roles and received honors including:
- Dixon Global Policy Scholar
- Lyceum Scholar
- Undergraduate Student Senate president pro-tempore
- T. S. Eliot Literary Society president
- Student Ethics Commission Representative
Clemson has had six Rhodes finalists since 2006, including Franke and fellow finalist Ronnie Clevenstine.
The award provides financial support for students as they complete postgraduate degrees at the University of Oxford.
