Northwestern Graduate Named Luce Scholar

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern alumnus Andrew Gruen, a 2008 Gates Cambridge Scholarship recipient, has been named a 2009 Luce Scholar to live and work in Asia.

Gruen, who received his bachelor's degree in 2007 with majors in journalism and political science, is one of eighteen to receive this prestigious award giving highly qualified American students a professional and cultural experience in East and Southeast Asia. Recipients are placed in a ten-month internship relating to their academic background.

Gruen plans to do work relating to news, new media and citizen participatory journalism. Location and internship placements have yet to be determined.

As an undergrad, Gruen studied new media at the Medill School of Journalism and worked for the BBC as a technology reporter as a senior in the Teaching Media Program. He was a Digital Executive Producer for Hearst-Argyle Television in Orlando, Fla., where he oversaw content creation for two local digital news properties. He was responsible for WESH.com, a television station Web site, and centralflorida.highschoolplaybook.com, a high school sports news and social networking Web site.

This summer, through the Gates Scholarship at Cambridge University, Gruen will receive an MPhil in Modern Societies and Global Transformations. He has also been offered a place as a doctoral candidate in Sociology.

The Henry Luce Foundation provides stipends and internships for high-achieving young leaders in this unique American-Asian exchange. It is intended for those who have had no prior experience with Asia. Recipients have backgrounds in virtually any area and placements can be made in the following countries: Brunei, Cambodia, China and Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.