The Nina Simone Project (NSP) in Tryon has announced David Russell as the 2010-2011 recipient of the Nina Simone scholarship.

A resident of Monticello, Ark., Russell is a recently-graduated philosophy, writing and honors inter-disciplinary major of the University of Central Arkansas. Among his other academic achievements, Russell has been a scholar stipendiary in the prestigious Summer Institute for Diversity in Philosophy at Rutgers University.

Russell, commenting on his selection for the award, said, “I am proud to be the recipient of the Nina Simone Scholarship. Ms. Simone’s legacy will make it possible for me, through that very talent itself, to further my own education in a graduate studies creative writing program.”

“Ironically,” Russell continued, “I remember the first time I encountered Nina Simone’s powerful lyricism, sung in her heavily soulful way. Little could I have known then that Simone would come to provide a means for me to further my formal education.”

The Nina Simone Project is based in Tryon, the birthplace of Simone. See www.ninasimoneproject.org for further NSP scholarship information.