Thomas M. Weser Award

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Each spring, one outstanding Vanderbilt University international student receives the annual Thomas M. Weser Award. The award was established in 1989 in memory of Thomas M. Weser, an exchange student from Germany who was killed while attending Vanderbilt University. Each year since, the Weser Award has recognized an international student who has made a significant contribution to the life of the University in the footsteps of Thomas M. Weser.

Weser came to Vanderbilt on the Regensburg Exchange Program in the fall of 1988. On February 5, 1989, the 22-year old student was robbed and killed. Weser's death drew national attention to the crime rate at Vanderbilt and shocked the University community. A number of security improvements were made as a result of the incident. The University installed a plaque in Weser's memory on the Highland Avenue side of parking lot 20 (now 25th Avenue Garage) where he was killed.

The idea for an annual award in Weser's memory came from a group of his fellow students. Each year, a committee selects from among those nominated a student who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to intellectual life, cross-cultural appreciation, and personal integrity. Weser Award winners are typically active in student organizations and community service projects outside of the classroom and maintain a solid record of academic performance at the undergraduate or graduate level.

The award committee will announce the call for nominations for the 2008 Weser Award, beginning in January 2008. The recipient will be announced at the 2008 Magnolia Awards Ceremony in April 2008. Please watch this site for updates and to download the Weser Award Nomination Form.

Click here to Submit Nomination Online:

Weser Award Online Nomination Form

Click here to Download and Print a Nomination Form:
Weser Award Nomination Form (Word)
Weser Award Nomination Form (pdf)

Thomas M. Weser Award Recipients

2007  Srivatsan Pallavaram (India)

2006  Yang Geng (China)

2005  Naved Mahmud (Bangladesh)

2004  Sarita Mohanty (Canada)

2003  Juan Diego Casaretto (Uruguay)

2002  Ibrahim Al-Mojel (Saudi Arabia)

2001  Muhammad Firdaus Abdul Monir (Malaysia)

2000  Kofi Dadzie (Ghana)

1999  Liguo Song (China)

1998  Claudia Seymour (Bermuda)

1997  Lily Ustariz P. (Honduras)

1996  Gerardo A. Montero (Venezuela)

1995  Ji Li (China)

1994  Yasemin Yardimci (Turkey)

1993  Alexander Zijdenbos (Netherlands)

1992  Md. Saleh Zein-Sabatto (Syria)

1991  Regine Schwarsmeier (Germany)

1990  Jan Van Egeraat (Netherlands)