NEWS

Local angles: Charlotte; Surry,
Wilkes and Yadkin counties

By CINDY DiCELLO
University Center for International Studies

CHAPEL HILL –University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students from Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties now may receive special consideration for scholarships to fund study abroad, thanks to two Carolina alumnae.

Mary Anne Johnson Dickson and Martha O’Neal Johnson of Charlotte have established the Charles Garland Johnson Sr. Scholars Fund to honor their late father and provide study abroad scholarships for students who may not otherwise have the opportunity.

"Having grown up in the small town of Elkin in Surry County, we wanted to be able to give students from rural counties the benefit of travel," Johnson said.

Carolina students whose applications for semester and yearlong programs are accepted by the study abroad office will be eligible for Garland Johnson Scholarships. Preference will be given to students from the three counties.

Each student selected as a Garland Johnson Scholar will receive at least $5,000 to participate in a university-approved semester or yearlong program. The scholarships will be awarded to at least five students each year. An additional scholarship will be awarded for up to the total amount of a study abroad program to a student with compelling financial need. The study abroad director and a faculty committee will select the recipients.

The gift counts toward the $1.8 billion goal of Carolina First, a comprehensive, multi-year private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university. At more than $700,000, the gift is the largest endowed study abroad fund in the College of Arts and Sciences.

"Honoring our father this way was a natural fit," Dickson said. "Our parents enjoyed traveling, we both love traveling and one of the chancellor’s goals is for every student, whether he or she can afford it, to have the opportunity to study and travel abroad."

A banker and community activist, Garland Johnson lived in Elkin for 70 years. He was mayor from 1945 to 1949 and taught Sunday school at the First Baptist Church of Elkin for more than 25 years. When he died in 2001, he left a half million dollars each to the church, the Elkin Public Library and the Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Johnson instilled his philanthropic ideals in his daughters. In 1997, the three of them set up a fund honoring their late mother, Flora Royall Johnson, which awards scholarships to students from Elkin High School to encourage them to pursue four-year degrees.

"He felt very strongly about giving back to Elkin," Dickson said. "He was a wonderful father, and we felt very fortunate that he raised us with lots of love and a need to give back to the community."

Dr. Robert Miles, study abroad director, said the new fund increases significantly the number of scholarships that the office can offer, including substantial awards to students whose financial circumstances prohibit study abroad.

"We are committed to making study abroad programs available to all students," he said. "The Garland Johnson Fund allows us to make significant progress toward the realization of that ambition."

The office, part of UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, offers more than 260 programs in 64 countries. The costs of study abroad often keep some students from participating. While some scholarships are available, there are not enough to meet the demand, Miles said.

Dickson transferred from Meredith College to Carolina, where she graduated with a degree in political science in 1963. She also holds a degree from North Carolina Wesleyan College in business administration. She worked as assistant to the chief executive officer of Hardee’s Food Systems and later in corporate marketing and public relations for Imasco U.S.A.

Dickson has served Carolina in many capacities. She was on the Board of Visitors from 1996-2000, chairing the group in 1998-99. She currently serves on the Carolina First steering committee and is one of three chairs of the Carolina Women’s Leadership Council, on which Johnson also serves.

Johnson earned a degree in art history at UNC in 1976. She is a member of the advisory board for international and area studies. After 14 years with British Airways, Johnson started her own business, Neal Johnson Ltd., an import company based in Charlotte that sells antique furniture and accessories to interior designers.

Students interested in applying for Garland Johnson Scholarships should contact the Office of Study Abroad in the Porthole Building or call 919-962-7001. Study abroad applications are due early each semester. For more information, visit the office’s Web site, http://studyabroad.unc.edu.

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Contact: Dr. Robert Miles, 919-962-7002 or bob.miles@unc.edu

News Services Contact: L.J. Toler, 919-962-8589 or laura_toler@unc.edu