PISCATAWAY – The Big Ten Conference and Indiana Sports Corp today announced Rutgers University senior golfer Emily Mills as its female recipient of the Wayne Duke Postgraduate Scholarship. The award is presented annually to one male and one female Big Ten senior pursuing a postgraduate degree for achievements in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities and leadership.
 
Mills, who is joined by Nebraska football player Chris Weber, maintains a 3.958 GPA as a neuroscience and cell biology major with a minor in business administration in the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program. The Colts Neck (N.J.) native's post-graduate goal is to attend medical school this upcoming fall. The Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, the New York University School of Medicine and The Penn State College of Medicine are among the programs to which she has already gained acceptance.
 
"We are delighted for Emily," said Rutgers University Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs. "She epitomizes everything we hope for in a Rutgers Student Athlete. Emily has excelled on and off the course, and she will continue to do great things in the service of people. We congratulate Emily and Chris on this great honor."
 
A three-time team captain and the program's career leader in scoring average, birdies and par or better rounds, Mills has served as a volunteer with the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children in Huancayo, Peru. She has completed more than 250 hours of research with the Cancer Institute of New Jersey Undergraduate program and invested 132 hours in Rutgers Leadership Academy community service initiatives. Mills has also been recognized as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and is poised to become a four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association Division I All-America Scholar.
 
"We are thrilled to celebrate Emily as the Wayne Duke Award recipient," said Head Women's Golf Coach Kari Williams. "This scholarship is a testament to Emily's incredible work ethic in the classroom, on the golf course, and in the community. In my years of coaching, Emily is the most complete student-athlete I have coached and she has certainly left her mark on our program."
 
Mills becomes the second Rutgers student-athlete to earn the prestigious scholarship, following men's lacrosse player Campbell Sode in 2015. Sode is presently enrolled at the University of Virginia School of Law. He has served as a Litigation Summer Associate at Winston & Strawn and as a Summer Law Clerk with the United States Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C.
 
In recognition of the Big Ten's leadership in fully integrating athletics into the academic mission of its member institutions, the Indianapolis Big Ten Community Partnership initiated the Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award in 2008. Each Big Ten institution nominates one male and one female student annually, with a $10,000 scholarship awarded to each winner. Over the past 11 years the award has contributed nearly $170,000 in scholarships.

The Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award is named for the late Big Ten Conference commissioner who served from 1971 to 1989 and passed last March. While leading the Big Ten, Duke spent much of his time working to improve academic standards and graduation rates for students competing in conference athletics.

Mills and Weber will be recognized in Indianapolis during the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 3rd.
 
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