Each year, the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy encourages students to apply for its highest honor, the Baker Scholar. Students who yearn for the opportunity to be directly involved with the center in the areas of politics, public policy, government and public service should apply.

Now in its fourth year of applicants, the Center encourages all students in every program to apply, but only the brightest and most committed will be awarded the title.

The selection process first involves an application and then an interview with personnel from the center.

The criteria for being a Baker Scholar include, for undergraduates, a minimum GPA of 3.5, and for graduate students, being in the upper third of their class. The application can be found online at the Baker Center Web page and must be sent to 217 Hoskins Library by Jan. 31.

Current Baker Scholars are in the fields of journalism and electronic media, business, history, political science, economics, philosophy, sociology, public administration and the College Scholars program. They range from sophomores to doctoral candidates.

Ben Signer, a junior in public administration, became a scholar in 2006 and hopes that every student eligible to apply will apply.

“(Being a Baker Scholar is) important to me because I feel like I am involved in something that is great and on the forefront of American civics and policy research. I also feel that the Baker Center is an unbridled source of opportunity, and it is for that reason that I would encourage every student to apply to be a Baker Scholar,” Signer said.

Lane McCarty, freshman at the University of Tennessee College of Law, became a Scholar in 2004 and says that being a Scholar opened up her academic experience to new areas of study and opportunities.

“Being a Baker Scholar opened up opportunities for me to be a part of conferences and events at UT that I otherwise would have been only a spectator. As a scholar, you get to meet a wide variety of people in different career fields and at different levels of government, public service and public life, both local, national and even international,” McCarty said.

With the deadline approaching fast and the completion of the new Baker Center becoming more evident each day, Baker Scholars may have greater opportunities to participate in meaningful university events.

“Students who are interested in getting involved with events on campus — with more substance than most — and meeting people who may provide them with information about various issues, career fields and their areas of interest should be the ones to apply to be a scholar,” McCarty said.