OU Alumnus Receives Luce Honors

University of Oklahoma alumnus Austin Coffey is one of 18 nationwide to be named a 2019-2020 Luce Scholar. Coffey is the first Luce winner from OU since Jenna Morey, who won the fellowship in 2009.  

The Luce Scholars Program, which is intended for young Americans with little or no prior experience in Asia, provides stipends and one-year internships for recipients from a variety of fields. Internships are based on recipients’ academic and career interests and are intended primarily as learning opportunities and cultural immersion experiences.

“Austin is one of our most interesting recent graduates, and we are extremely proud that he has been selected as a Luce Scholar,” said Brian Johnson, OU’s Nationally Competitive Scholarships adviser. “During his time here and since his graduation, he has exemplified the very best of OU.”

A native of Austin, Texas, Coffey is the son of Lisa Leonard and David Jourdan and Tim Coffey and Page Oliver. A National Merit Scholar, he graduated summa cum laude from OU in December 2018 as a letters and economics double major. He currently lives in Heidelberg, Germany, where he is completing an intensive language course of study. Last summer, he served as a Political Studies Program Fellow for the Hertog Foundation in Washington, D.C.

At OU, Coffey was a member of the Student Government Association, consulted with The Oklahoma Group and served as a moderator for the Honors College’s Informed Citizens Discussion Groups. Additionally, he served as a consultant with OU’s Institute for the Creation of Economic Wealth in 2018.  

As a Luce Scholar, Coffey will attend an orientation in New York City and a summer language training program before his year-long placement in Asia. While abroad, he hopes to study and write about Asian democracy.

More information on Coffey and the Luce Scholars Program can be found at https://www.hluce.org/news/articles/2020-2021-luce-scholars-announced/.

By the OU Honors College