KU announces Beinecke scholarship nominee

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has nominated Levi O'Connor, of Louisburg, for the Beinecke Scholarship Program. 

Each year through the program, the Sperry Fund offers 20 scholarships to undergraduates who intend to pursue a research-focused or fine arts master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Selected students receive $30,000 to be used for graduate study and $5,000 in their senior year. Award recipients will be announced in June.   

O'Connor is a junior double majoring in psychology and philosophy. He started his research journey at KU as a freshman through participation in the Emerging Scholars Program with Glenn Adams, professor of psychology, and Syed Muhammad Omar, graduate student, in the Cultural Psychology Research Group, and continues working with them. He is now a KU McNair Scholar and a Hall Center for Humanities Undergraduate Fellow. O'Connor has also earned multiple scholarships, including the Jerry Bailey Education Opportunity Scholarship and two Undergraduate Research Awards. His work focuses on masculinity through a cultural psychology lens, and he plans to pursue a doctorate in social psychology with hopes of becoming a professor himself.

Only 135 colleges and universities across the country are invited to nominate one student for the scholarship each year. KU is the only participating institution in Kansas. At KU, the nomination process is coordinated by the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships. The next application cycle will begin in late fall 2026. Interested students should contact the office by email. 

The Beinecke Scholarship Program was established in 1971 by the board of directors of the Sperry and Hutchinson Company to honor Edwin, Frederick and Walter Beinecke. The board created an endowment to provide substantial scholarships for the graduate education of young people of exceptional promise. Candidates should be U.S. citizens and college juniors who demonstrate superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise during their undergraduate career.