UW-Madison graduate student Colin Higgins’ commute to class will be longer than most next fall when he travels nearly 4,000 miles to Oxford, England, after being awarded with a Rhodes Scholarship.
The Rhodes Scholarship is recognized as the oldest international study program in the world and funds approximately $50,000 per year for two to three years of education at the University of Oxford.
Higgins finished his undergraduate degree in May, triple majoring with honors in environmental studies, geography and history and is currently pursuing an accelerated Master of Public Affairs degree, which he will finish this spring, according to a UW-Madison release.
Bill Mulligan, a UW-Madison senior studying biochemistry was a finalist for the scholarship.
"As the state's flagship university, nurturing homegrown talent is one of our greatest privileges," said UW-Madison Provost Sarah Mangelsdorf in the release. "Both Colin and Bill grew up here in Wisconsin. Because we were able to offer them compelling research opportunities and mentorship, we have the honor of helping to launch these two remarkable individuals into the world."
Higgins founded and chaired the Associated Students of Madison Sustainability Committee where he supported and advised environmentally friendly methods throughout campus.
On campus Higgins engaged with fellow students on campus to better environmental sustainability in residence halls during move-in and move-out days, according to an April 22 Daily Cardinal article.
With over 43,000 students on campus, Higgins said he credits UW-Madison’s large student body with allowing him to get to where he is today, as it helped him challenge his own perspectives. He said the faculty in the geography department, the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs and environmental department helped him develop his ideas on campus.
“I said in my application for the Rhodes that I went into college very much an environmentalist concerned about conservation,” Higgins said. “I came out an undergrad who’s more interested in how we can make environmental policy work for people who are socially marginalized.”
In 2014 Higgins was one of 50 students in the nation to receive the Udall Scholarship for his potential and commitment to pursue an environmental career.
Higgins will further his work in the field at Oxford while studying philosophical and practical solutions to environmental governance issues by pursuing a Master of Philosophy in geography and the environment.
