Ten Receive Arthur Ashe Sports-Scholar Awards

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Four are multiple recipients, including CJ Lyons, Marc Anderson, Devin Smith and Rani Jones

6/2/2022 9:59:00 AM

By: Perry Laskaris, Athletics Communications Specialist

TROY, N.Y. – A school-record 10 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes have been selected as 2022 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine. RPI’s honorees include Rani Jones, Marc Anderson, Austin Charles, Charles “Chuck” Clemons, Erick Johnson, William “CJ” Lyons, Vinnie McDonald, Anthony Safford, Devin Smith and Timothy Wise. Jones, Anderson, Lyons and Smith are all two-time recipients.

The Engineers’ lone women’s honoree, Jones has been tabbed to the Tennis Third Team for the second year in a row. Charles and McDonald were First Team honorees from football, while Anderson and Johnson made the Second Team, Lyons was on the Third Team and Safford was on the Fourth Team. Clemons was a Second Team honoree from basketball, while Wise and Smith made the First and Second Team, respectively, from track & field.

Name	Year	Sport	Major	GPA	Hometown / High School
Rani Jones	Junior	Tennis	Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology	3.57	New Market, MD / Oakdale
Marc Anderson	Senior	Football	Business and Management	3.73	Rio Rancho, NM / V. Sue Cleveland
Austin Charles	Graduate	Football	Business Analytics	3.83	Castaic, CA / Cathedral
Chuck Clemons	Sophomore	Basketball	Business and Management	3.72	Trumbull, CT / St. Luke’s School
Erick Johnson	Sophomore	Football	Business and Management	3.93	Fort Worth, TX / Centennial
CJ Lyons	Senior	Football	Business and Management	3.59	Rocky Mount, NC / St. Stephens-St. Agnes
Vinnie McDonald	Graduate	Football	Business Analytics and Supply Chain Management	3.77	Elmont, NY / Elmont Memorial
Anthony Safford	Sophomore	Football	Business and Management	3.84	Indianapolis, IN / Dunham School
Devin Smith	Senior	Track & Field	Mechanical Engineering	3.63	Highland Mills, NY / Monroe Woodbury
Timothy Wise	Graduate	Track & Field	Mechanical Engineering	3.80	Montclair, NJ / Seton Hall Prep.

Now in its 30th year, Diverse first established the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award in 1992 to honor undergraduate students of color who exemplify the standards set by the tennis legend. A scholar and an athlete, Ashe sought to expand opportunities for young people.

Each year, Diverse invites every postsecondary institution with intercollegiate athletics in the U.S. to submit nominations for their outstanding sports scholars. In addition to their athletic ability, students named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must exhibit academic excellence as well as community service. To be eligible to be named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar, diverse student athletes must have reached at least sophomore standing academically, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better, and be active both on their campus and in their community.

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