MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—A member of the Class of 2007 with deep concerns about reconstruction efforts in war-torn regions of the world has received a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in urban planning at two European universities.
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| Gruia Badescu '07 has earned a graduate scholarship to pursue a master's degree in urban planning |
Gruia Badescu, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Middlebury College from Romania, was one of 35 recipients of the Cooke Graduate Scholarship program that provides up to $50,000 per year for graduate education. He was selected from a field of 957 nominated applicants.
Beginning this fall, Badescu will attend the London School of Economics and Institut d’Etudes Politiques to pursue an interdisciplinary, double master’s degree in urban planning and urban policy.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, founded in 2000, supports exceptionally promising students who have defied their economic circumstances to perform at the highest academic levels. The foundation looks for students who will work hard, stay focused, and defy the stereotype that financial need precludes high achievement.
At Middlebury, Badescu completed a double major in geography and international studies-European studies, and earned departmental honors in both areas. A summa cum laude graduate, he studied abroad at Johannes Guttenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany, and at Institut d’Etudes Politiques (“Sciences Po”) in Paris.
Outside of class Gruia was one of the organizers of the student-led symposium called “The Many Faces of Poverty: From Local to Global.” He also was active in the International Students Organization and MIX Middlebury College, the student group that promotes cross-cultural education in Vermont. Since his graduation 14 months ago, Gruia has worked for National Geographic Society: first as an intern in the International Editions Division, next as an apprentice in the society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, and most recently as a writer-researcher for the Romanian edition of the National Geographic Magazine.
Glenn Andres, professor of the history of art and architecture, says that in his 37 years of teaching he has “not seen a student so wholly consumed by the issues of historic and contemporary urban form” as Gruia Badescu. “His chosen topic for his senior thesis was the reconstruction of German cities after World War II,” said Andres, “the ways that the form of the cities was affected by the occupying power, local traditions and politics, and the city’s self-image. … He gathered a remarkable body of photographic material, interviews, documentation, and bibliographic resources. … And he built an effective and convincing argument, tapping his academic background in economics, political science, German, and architectural history.”
Badescu’s advisor at Middlebury was Guntram Herb, professor of geography, who termed his senior project “the best thesis I have read since coming to Middlebury in 1993. It makes a significant contribution to the literature on post-war German reconstruction and national identity.” Professor Herb said Badescu’s “compassion, humanitarian concern, and social engagement are without rival. I have rarely met someone at his age who is so dedicated and motivated to foster understanding among peoples.” Gruia speaks Romanian, English, French, and German, and Herb said Gruia’s “exposure to and familiarity with different cultures makes him intellectually sophisticated and has given him a thorough understanding of the social issues facing our world.”
In his personal statement on the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation application, Badescu wrote: “I grew up in a small town in the Carpathians, where my grandparents had been exiled in the early years of communism. A signature on a petition for democracy brought my grandfather, then a medical student, first into prison and then into house arrest. He has been my role model, inspiring me to challenge totalitarianism, seek justice, and stand by my principles.”
On a visit to Poland before he enrolled at Middlebury, Badescu saw many of the sites of suffering from the Second World War. “The trip to Warsaw ignited a new passion: the delicate task of reconstructing a city after a war, and the responsibility we have to [preserve] architectural heritage,” Badescu explained.
A second nominee
Middlebury College nominated a second graduate in 2008 for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship: Astri von Arbin Ahlander, the salutatorian from the Class of 2007.
However, von Arbin Ahlander withdrew her application when she received a scholarship from Tekn. Dr. Marcus Wallenbergs Fond for internationellt industriellt foretagande to pursue a master of fine arts degree in writing at Columbia University. Originally from Stockholm, von Arbin Ahlander was a double major at Middlebury in both English and in film and media studies.
More information about the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship program may be found at the foundation’s Web site.