NEW YORK—Columbia senior track & field student-athlete Sydni Scott '22CC has earned a Rhodes Scholarship and will attend Oxford University in October 2022. Scott is the 13^th Columbia student-athlete and first women's athlete in history to win a Rhodes Scholarship and the first since 2000. See the complete all-time list below.
 
Scott was one of two Columbia University students to earn the prestigious honor and was one of 32 students from the United States selected from 826 candidates endorsed by 247 different colleges. This year's class establishes a record for most women ever to be selected. The scholars will begin their studies at the University of Oxford next October, joining additional scholarship recipients from more than 60 other countries.
 
The award, considered to be the most prestigious international scholarship for American college graduates, was established in 1903 through the final will and bequest of Cecil John Rhodes, with the first class of scholars beginning their Oxford studies in 1904. Students from all over the world compete for the 102 scholarships that are now awarded annually.
 
"We take great pride in Sydni's accomplishment and we wish her all the best in the incredible experience that she will embark on," Columbia's Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Peter Pilling said.
 
At Columbia, Scott majors in political science and minors in African American and African Diaspora studies. According to Columbia College, Scott states that she is "interested in exploring questions of race and restitution outside the United States, where a different local and regional framework will enrich my exposure to and understanding of problem-assessment and solution-building."
 
Scott served as a research intern with The Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity, and her research into reconciliation and reparations in this context led her to found The Amendment Project (TAP), a grassroots organization of her own design, dedicated to creating discourse around racial reparations.
 
A Unionville, Conn. native, Scott is the daughter of Kimberley Scott and the late ESPN sportscaster, Stuart Scott. She competes in the long and triple jump for the Lions. Her personal bests include a 5.59m in the indoor long jump and 5.49m in the outdoor long jump, 11.79m in the indoor triple jump, and 11.38m in the outdoor triple jump.
 
COLUMBIA ATHLETICS' RHODES SCHOLARS
1908     Rhys Carpenter '09 (All-Around), Classics
1916     Joseph Armstrong '15 (Baseball, Others), English & Latin
1947     James Matthews '42 (Football)
1957     Erich Gruen '57 (Men's Rowing), History
1959     Richard Merrill '59 (Men's Tennis), History
1960     Thomas Vargish '60 (Men's Skiing), History
1969     Richard Glen Menaker '69 (Men's Tennis), Pre-Law
1970     Heyward Harrell Dodson '70 (Men's Basketball), History
1973     Lyle Clift Rexer '73 (Men's Swimming & Diving), English
1984     George Stephanopoulos (Wrestling), Political Science
1991     Carl Marci, '91 (Men's Track and Field), Psychology
2000     Brandon Dammerman '01 (Men's Squash), Biochemistry & Mathematics
2021     Sydni Scott '22 (Women's Track and Field), Political Science

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