Thouron Award

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THOURON AWARD

The Thouron Award was established in 1960 by Sir John R. H. Thouron, K.B.E., and the late Esther duPont Thouron. It was created to strengthen the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom through educational exchange between British universities and the University of Pennsylvania. Through the programme they sought to nourish and develop Anglo-American friendship by ensuring that, in the years to come, a growing number of the leading citizens of these two countries would have a thorough understanding of their trans-Atlantic neighbours. In the 40+ years since its founding, the Thouron Award has sponsored programs of graduate study for more than 650 fellows, known as Thouron Scholars.

Graduates of British universities receive support for up to two years of study – in any degree course – at the University of Pennsylvania, and Penn graduates may study at any university in the U.K. with up to two years of support. The Award, among the most generous exchange fellowships in the world, pays tuition and a stipend that covers room, board, and such extras as entertainment and travel.

Accordingly the Exchange Programme was set up to bring young people of exceptional ability from each country into contact with the ideas and peoples of another country. The experience of sharing different ways of life, of studying in a new academic and cultural environment, and of confronting viewpoints and assumptions that have long and varied pasts helps towards personal enrichment and maturity and contributes to deeper understanding of the people and the traditions of each country. It is belief of the founders that the recipients of this Award, and their countries, will benefit from this experience if they are chosen as much for their personal abilities and leadership potential as for their scholastic ability.

In keeping with the goals of the Award, Thouron Scholars are chosen on the basis of their “ambassadorial qualities” as well as their ability to succeed in their chosen academic programs. They should be able to act as representatives of their home country while being open to the different perspective of the country in which they do their academic program.

The Thouron Award provides support for British recipients to attend any of the graduate and professional schools of the University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania recipients of the Award may study at any institution of higher education in the United Kingdom.

What distinguishes the Thouron Award from other fellowships is the close involvement of the Thouron family, beginning with Sir John and continuing through his son, “Tiger,” and now his grandson Rupert. The family has welcomed every Thouron Scholar to become part of their extended family by inviting them into their homes, entertaining them, and maintaining long-term contacts. With Thouron Scholars dispersed in careers around the world, the Thouron “family” has become truly global.

HISTORY OF THE AWARD

In the autumn of 1960 three British students, a geologist, an economist and a landscape architect began their courses of study at the University of Pennsylvania as the first Thouron Fellows. In 1961 two graduates of the University of Pennsylvania arrived in the United Kingdom, an economist to the London School of Economics and a classicist to Balliol College, Oxford, as the first Fellows from the United States. Since that time over 500 Fellows have been selected.

Thouron Fellows have pursued degrees in a wide variety of fields. British Fellows have studies in all of the graduate and professional schools of the University of Pennsylvania. American Fellows have attended some 53 British educational institutions, with Cambridge, Oxford and London Universities attracting the majority of the Pennsylvanian students. In the 40 years of its existence the Thouron Award has played an influential role in shaping the lives and careers of its alumni. As new Thouron Fellows cross the Atlantic each year to take up or continue their studies, they provide an ever-strengthening link of co-operation between their respective countries.

THE FOUNDERS

[edit] Sir John Rupert Hunt Thouron, KBE

Sir John was born in Cookham, England. His American father came from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and his British mother was descended from the first Chairman of Lloyds of London. During World War II he was commissioned in the Black Watch, was a paratrooper and later a member of the Special Allied Airborn Reconnaissance Force. On January 1, 1967 he was created a Knight of the British Empire. This honour was in recognition of the Thourons’ dedication to Anglo-American friendship.

[edit] Lady Thouron

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Esther Driver du Pont Thouron, the daughter of industrialist Lammot du Pont and Natalie Wilson du Pont, was a noted horse breeder and philanthropist. In 1966 the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association gave her the Lady’s Sportsmanship Award; she was listed in Who’s Who of American Women, and in 1967 she received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Pennsylvania in recognition of her commitment to Anglo-American educational exchange.

REFERENCES http://www.thouronaward.org/ http://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/research-students/pgfunding/thouron/founders.html