Hong Min Park, the son of Tae-Yul Park and Chae-Hun Cho of Pusan, has been named a McDonnell International Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and master’s degree in political science from Seoul National University, which is one of 15 leading Asian universities partnered with Washington University in St. Louis in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.
Mr. Park is pursuing a doctorate in political science in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and expects to complete his study in about four years. He previously spent two years in the doctoral program at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A. He plans to become a researcher or professor in the United States, researching the American Congress, and later to return to Korea to study Korean legislative politics.
“Hong Min Park already has demonstrated that he is an outstanding student during his first year of graduate study in the U.S., and he also promises to develop into one of the global leaders of tomorrow,” said James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences and Director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. “We take particular pride at the Academy in helping individuals like Mr. Park fulfill their potential as members of a network of future leaders.”
The McDonnell International Scholars Academy is both new and unique. Employing an unusual structure and approach, it brings together top scholars from many countries to pursue world-class education and research while forging a strong network with one another. Key to this are partnerships Washington University has established with top universities and corporations around the world with an eye to increasing opportunities for joint research and global education.
The McDonnell Academy Scholars are considered future world leaders in their fields. As such, they are provided not only rigorous graduate instruction, but a thorough cultural, political and social education designed to prepare them as leaders knowledgeable about the United States, other countries, and critical international issues.
Once selected for this highly competitive program, each scholar is matched with a distinguished member of the Washington University faculty who serves as a mentor for the scholar and also as an “ambassador” to the university partner from which the scholar has graduated. The ambassador assists the McDonnell Scholar in academic and professional life and travels annually with the scholar to the partner university to build relationships between the two institutions.
T.S. Park, M.D., the Shi H. Huang Professor of Neurosurgery and neurosurgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital is Mr. Park’s faculty mentor-ambassador. Dr. T. S. Park’s clinical interests include pediatric neurosurgery and pediatric epilepsy surgery and craniosynostosis. He received his medical degree and served a neurosurgery residency at Yonsei University College of Medicine.
The McDonnell Academy Scholars receive funding for full tuition, living expenses and travel to and from St. Louis. Most of the scholars reside in two fully equipped and furnished apartment buildings near campus.
Funding is provided through a sustaining endowment gift from John F. McDonnell, vice chairman of the Washington University Board of Trustees and retired chairman of the board of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, additional endowment pledges, and 11 multinational corporate and foundation sponsors. Sponsoring corporations also offer internships and on-site educational opportunities for the Academy’s Corporate Fellows.