We would like to congratulate Brother Tait Ferguson ’23 for being selected as one of the 2023 President’s Medalists due to his achievements and contributions as an undergraduate at Denison.
According to the university, in addition to academic achievement, the criteria for this award are, “some combination of the following: service to the community, contribution to the arts, enlargement of the community’s global perspective, athletic fitness and achievement, leadership ability and contribution to community discourse.”
At the Academic Awards Convention, Brother Ferguson’s achievements were outlined through the following remarks:
“Tait, you’ve been a leader both on campus and off, dedicating yourself to connecting peers on other university campuses and across the country. From the Campus Vote Project to political engagement with causes and candidates supporting environmental measures and open democracies, you have built not just bridges, but highways connecting life on campus with other colleges and universities, and to the wider political world all around us.
Described by your nominators as the ‘quintessential liberal arts student,’ out of your major in environmental studies and minor in religion, you ventured into the challenging terrain of a senior research project looking at oil & gas extraction on Native American lands. You also took on the challenge of study abroad in Berlin, considering environmental and democratic governance in an international setting.
But it was close to home where you were part of an astonishing 99+ percent voter registration tally among Denison University students, leading our campus to have one of the highest voter registration rates among American universities. Or as one nominator observed: ‘Tait, you have made voting a cool thing for Denison students to do.’ And you’ve done other notable things, too, from improvisational theatre with Burpee’s Seedy to the Outdoors Club, along with being a face in the Office of Admission that visitors have come to recognize throughout their time on campus. Only days ago, you learned that you’ve been selected as a 2023-2024 Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellow, where you will be working for the Trust for Public Lands Ohio office. For these and so many other reasons, you deserve a place in this year’s President’s Medalist class.”
Once again, congratulations Brother Ferguson on all you have accomplished as an active member of Beta Theta Pi at Denison!