Only days after Kofi Annan’s speech took place on campus, British royalty traveled to… Only days after Kofi Annan’s speech took place on campus, British royalty traveled to Oakland.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, announced the designation of Pitt as a Marshall Center of Excellence at a presentation in Alumni Hall on Friday.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Winston Churchill once wrote, ‘The first duty of a university is to teach wisdom and character.’ I think that you would agree that the University of Pittsburgh has passed Churchill’s test of duty with distinction,’ Andrew said.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ British consulates in the United States award up to 40 Marshall Scholarships each year to American undergraduates to use for two years of graduate study at any British university.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The University has won Marshall Scholarships in each of the past four years,’ Andrew said, ‘[with] a record consistent of higher achievement, unsurpassed by any other public university in the United States.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt graduate Cynthia Kinnan received a Marshall Scholarship in 2003 and currently attends the London School of Economics.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’ve heard it said, Marshall Scholars sparkle and they possess the rare combination of intellectual brilliance, academic and personal discipline, grace and maturity,’ the prince said. ‘They should have a clear vision of their futures and well defined goals, which they can explain with character, vigor and enthusiasm.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘And they understand how and why, two years in a leading British university is so important in achieving those goals,’ he added.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Andrew continued by commending Pitt and defining its goals and successes as a university.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The first [of Pitt’s accomplished missions] is the way it has served the needs of greater Pittsburgh and contributed significantly to the region’s economic rebirth,’ he said. ‘The second is the way it has emerged as an internationally renowned university.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[Pitt’s] candidates have regularly outperformed students from some of America’s most famous universities, particularly those such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania,’ Andrew added.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Chancellor Mark Nordenberg accepted the award on behalf of the University.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Whenever a University of Pittsburgh student has won a Marshall Scholarship, the entire campus has glowed with pride. Today, as you recognize their collective achievements, that glow is even brighter,’ Nordenberg said after recognizing the previous recipients of Marshall Scholarships present in the audience.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s year of designation coincided with the 50th anniversary of the award’s conception.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[The] credit belongs to the University as a whole,’ the prince said, ‘but especially to its HonorsCollege, headed by [Dean] Alec Stewart, which identified and prepared your Marshall candidates with relentless rigor and commitment to the academic excellence that has produced such great results.’