William Lieber, medical office assistant, urology, Blessing Health System, is among 32 recipients selected recently for a Rhodes Scholarship. Eight hundred individuals nationwide applied for the honor.
The scholarship is one of the most prestigious prizes in academia. Rhodes scholars attend the University of Oxford in England for two years of graduate studies. Recipients are selected based on academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and a commitment to service.
“The first feeling was shock,” Lieber said of his selection. “Honestly, I could not believe they picked me. I was in a room full of some of the most impressive peers I’ve ever been among. I wondered what they saw in me.”
“The second feeling was obligation,” he continued. “This honor represents a large investment in me and in my future, and I take my Illinois heritage very seriously. I feel a responsibility to do something good with this exceptional opportunity.”
Lieber is a Springfield, Illinois, native and May 2025 graduate of Duke University in North Carolina. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in Program II: Health & Incarceration — a course of study at the intersection of the medical sciences, ethics, education, and criminal and restorative justice.
At the University of Oxford, Lieber will pursue two degrees - a Master of Science in Education and Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice. His career goal is to become a physician who works within the prison system in Illinois or another midwestern state.
Will is the son of Dr. David and Debbie Lieber. David Lieber is a Blessing urologist.
“As parents, we want the best for our children,” said Dr. Lieber. “Will doing well, particularly in the area he has chosen as his life’s work, is humbling.”
Will Lieber leaves for the University of Oxford in fall of 2026.
Some of the information for this story was provided by Duke Today, produced jointly by Duke University Communications and Marketing and the office of Communication Services.