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University of Oregon graduate named Rhodes Scholar Monday Nov 20, 2006 at 2:00 AM Jan 4, 2011 at 9:48 PM EUGENE & A recent University of Oregon graduate has been selected as a Rhodes Scholar for 2007. Andrew Shipley, 22, who grew up in Lake Oswego, is the first Rhodes Scholar from the university in at least a dozen years. "This is a big deal," said David Frohnmayer, the University of Oregon president who is a 1962 Rhodes Scholar. "It's a life-changing experience, and I think anyone who has had that opportunity would recognize it as rare. And much is expected of you because of that." Shipley is one of the 32 Americans who will get to study at Oxford University in England thanks to the prestigious prize, the scholarship trust announced Sunday. At the University of Oregon, Shipley created his own academic path that was part political science, part psychology and part evolutionary theory. He published multiple papers in academic journals, went on research trips to Ecuador, Ghana and the West Indies, and had a GPA of 4.04. "There's no single department or even a single profession that captures exactly what he's doing," said John Orbell, who teaches at the university's Institute for Cognitive and Decision Sciences. "He's gone out and created his own department." And he's done it exceedingly well, according to Warren Holmes, a psychology professor. "I have been a faculty member for 26 years now, and Drew is hands-down the best undergraduate student I've ever encountered." Shipley's goal is to study the causes and perhaps to lessen conflict in a war-torn world. At Oxford, Shipley will largely be doing his own independent research, working out of the Oxford Center for the Study of Intergroup Conflict. "I'm interested in developing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of intergroup conflict reduction and cooperation in plural societies," said Shipley, who admits that he has a tough time articulating his work to nonacademic types. Besides his academic prowess, Shipley is a triathlete and accomplished tennis player, and has worked as a writing tutor and fly-fishing guide. While at the UO, he wrote language that was included in the university's diversity plan, and initiated a lecture series on the challenges facing sub-Saharan African children. Though his studies took him through many academic departments, Shipley found no shortage of mentors. "I never, not once, ran into a professor who wasn't excited to sit down and share their expertise," he said. The Rhodes Scholarships were established in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer. Applicants are expected to demonstrate academic achievement, physical vigor and respect for others, among other qualities. About 85 scholars are selected worldwide each year.