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 NEWS

For immediate use

Jan. 27, 2004 -- No. 34

Editors: Finalists are listed below by counties. An asterisk indicates a double listing.

60 N.C. high school seniors named finalists
for Morehead Awards to UNC-Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL – Sixty North Carolina high school seniors have been named finalists for 2004 Morehead Awards to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Morehead Award Central Selection Committee will interview 112 finalists – 60 from North Carolina and 52 from other states and Great Britain – in Chapel Hill March 1-2. The John Motley Morehead Foundation trustees will offer awards to approximately 40 students. Winners will be announced March 5.

Among the largest and most competitive scholarship programs in the United States, the Morehead pays all expenses for four years of undergraduate study, including the costs of a laptop computer and four summer enrichment experiences. The award is valued at approximately $72,000 for each North Carolina student and $125,000 for each out-of-state student.

This year’s selection process began last fall, when 1,298 North Carolina students were nominated by their high schools or applied for the Morehead. The foundation convened a screening committee in October to review the students’ records and select 232 semifinalists from North Carolina. This month, regional committees interviewed the semifinalists and named finalists.

The regional committees -- made up of Morehead alumni, area professionals, and friends of the university and the foundation -- interviewed between 12 and 36 students at each of 11 locations.

"The committees have to make a lot of difficult decisions every year, and this year is no exception," said Charles Lovelace, the foundation’s executive director. "UNC and the foundation are deeply grateful for the hard work and good judgment our interviewers devote to this purpose."

Instituted as the first non-athletic merit-based scholarship program in the country, the Morehead has evolved into an experiential learning program with lifelong expectations. The distinguishing feature of the award is the extensive summer enrichment program, which provides global hands-on leadership and problem-solving experiences in four areas: outdoor leadership, public service, enterprise and international research.

The scholars are expected to make significant contributions to the university community in their areas of talent and interest and to continue to contribute to their communities as Morehead alumni.

"The Morehead is much more than a scholarship," Lovelace said. "It’s a life-changing opportunity to study at a world-class university, work with incredible peers and faculty and travel the globe. The Morehead is more of a challenge for the future than a reward for high school achievements."

Criteria for the awards are academic achievement, leadership, moral force of character and physical vigor. The Morehead program was begun in 1951 by the late John Motley Morehead III, an 1891 UNC graduate who gave the Morehead Planetarium to the university.

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Following is a list of N.C. Morehead Award finalists by county in alphabetical order. Names of students listed in more than one location are noted with asterisks.

Beaufort

Buncombe

Burke

Cabarrus

Caldwell

Carteret

Catawba

Chatham

Craven

Cumberland

Durham

Forsyth

Gaston

Greene

Guilford

Henderson

Iredell

Lee

Mecklenburg

New Hanover

Orange

Pitt

Randolph

Rowan

Scotland

Surry

Wake

Warren

Wayne

Other States:

Maryland

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Morehead Foundation contacts: Charles Lovelace, Erika Williamson, 919-962-1201

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