MUNCIE, Ind. -- The first Ball State University graduate student to win a major national academic prize has been awarded a prestigious Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

The Mellon Fellowship--one of only 80 in the nation--was granted to Yonder Gillihan, a 24-year-old history and classics student who earned his bachelor's degree in history, sculpture and Greek from Ball State last year. Gillihan will complete his master's degree from Ball State this summer with a focus on the relationship between pagan philosophy and Christian origins.

He plans to enter the doctoral program at the University of Chicago in September to study first century community ethics in the Department of New Testament and Early Christian Literature.

"This is a very prestigious prize," said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs C. Warren Vander Hill. "It is a singular honor for Yonder Gillihan, as well as Ball State University, to receive such a distinguished academic award."

The fellowship pays full tuition, fees and a $14,000 stipend for one year and is intended to encourage people who are committed to teaching and have a broad vision of learning. Last year 11 recipients were from Harvard, eight from Yale, and four from Princeton.

A graduate of Sullivan High School in Sullivan, Indiana, Gillihan and his wife Natalie, a local artist, reside in Muncie. His advisor in the master's program is Christine Shea, associate professor of modern languages.