USA TODAY Names 2008 All-USA College Academic First Team

Embargoed until February 14, 2008

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USA TODAY named 20 students to its nineteenth annual All-USA College Academic Team, honoring them for outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership. The students will receive a $2,500 cash award.

"USA TODAY is pleased to be able to honor academic excellence and community service throughout the country," said USA TODAY editor Ken Paulson.

Following are the 20 First Team members and their hometowns:

-- Melis N. Anahtar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Home: Bethesda, Md.

-- Carl H. Brinton, Brigham Young University

Home: Salt Lake City, Utah

-- Mark Dlugash, Swarthmore College

Home: New Rochelle, N.Y.

-- Christine M. George, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Home: Manassas, Va.

-- Alexander W. Hertel-Fernandez, Northwestern University

Home: West Lafayette, Ind.

-- Kurt R. Herzer, Johns Hopkins University

Home: Melville, N.Y.

-- Zachary A. Kaufman, Dartmouth College

Home: Madison, Wis.

-- Carmen Kut, Johns Hopkins University

Home: Baltimore, Md.

-- Kuong C. Ly, Boston College

Home: Woburn, Mass.

-- Joshua R. Lotz, The Ohio State University

Home: Willoughby, Ohio

-- Michael B. Love, Harvard University

Home: Fredericksburg, Va.

-- Megan C. McGinnity, Arizona State University

Home: Mesa, Ariz.

-- Emily A. Morell, Yale University

Home: Oakland, Calif.

-- Renee N. Rivas, The University of Alabama

Home: Richardson, Texas

-- Nathaniel M. Segal, Yale University

Home: Gainesville, Fla.

-- Farah J. Shareef, University of Illinois at Chicago

Home: Peoria, Ill.

-- Rajiv S. Srinivasan, U.S. Military Academy at West Point

Home: Cambridge, Mass.

-- Tomasz P. Stryjewski, Louisiana State University

Home: Baton Rouge, La.

-- N. Taylor Thompson, Dartmouth College

Home: Greensboro, N.C.

-- Shuai (Steve) Xu, Rice University

Home: Diamond Bar, Calif.

The team of 20 was selected by a panel of judges from almost 500 students nominated by colleges and universities across the United States. Judges considered grades, leadership, activities and, most importantly, how students extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom.

For more information on these winners as well as the second- and third-team members, see the Thursday, February 14, editions of USA TODAY or log on to http://allstars.usatoday.com.

Criteria for the All-USA College Academic Team were developed in consultation with USA TODAY's education co-sponsors: the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

The 2008 All-USA College Academic Team final judges were:

-- Frank Balz, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

-- Susan Chilcott, American Association of State Colleges and Universities

-- Robert Dubill, Former executive editor, USA TODAY

-- Penelope Earley, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

-- Christine Garton, 2001 All-USA College Academic First Team; University Chic Media

-- Rae Goldsmith, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education

-- Paul Hassen, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges

-- Audrey Kelaher, American Council on Education

-- Kevin Kruger, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators

-- Andrew Lee, 2007 All-USA College Academic First Team, Public.us (makers of Fantasy Congress)

-- Martin Snyder, American Association of University Professors

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 34 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. USA TODAY is published by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) . The USA TODAY brand also includes: USATODAY.com, an award-winning news and information Web site that is updated 24 hours per day; USA TODAY Sports Weekly, a magazine for enthusiasts of college and professional football and baseball; USA TODAY Mobile, offering up-to-the minute news and information on a variety of mobile platforms and devices; and USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of the USA TODAY brand that brings the spirit and quality of the newspaper to television.