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NEWS SERVICES |
NEWS
| For immediate use |
March 6, 2004 -- No. 121 |
Note: Photos of all winners are posted at
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar04/moreheadphotos2004.html
40 outstanding high school seniors are named Morehead Scholars
CHAPEL HILL -- Forty young leaders from high schools across the nation and Great Britain -- including 20 from North Carolina -- have been named Morehead Scholars at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Among the largest and most competitive scholarship programs in the United States, the Morehead pays all expenses for four years of undergraduate study, including costs of a laptop computer and four summer enrichment programs. The value of the Morehead is approximately $75,000 for each in-state student and $125,000 for each out-of-state student.
The winners, announced today (March 5) by the trustees of the John Motley Morehead Foundation at UNC-Chapel Hill, were selected through a nomination and interview process that began last fall, when approximately 1,500 high school seniors nationwide and in Great Britain were nominated by their high schools or applied for the Morehead.
From those nominees, the foundation and regional committees chose 112 finalists: 60 in-state, 49 out-of-state and three from Great Britain. The process concluded with interviews of the finalists in Chapel Hill Monday and Tuesday (March 1-2).
"This was by far the most competitive selection process in the history of the Morehead program," said Charles E. Lovelace Jr., executive director of the Morehead Foundation. "This year’s finalists comprised an unrivaled group of accomplished and talented candidates. It was a challenge to select only 40 from among these outstanding students."
Selection criteria are leadership, academic achievement, moral force of character and physical vigor. Morehead recipients are chosen by merit and accomplishments, not financial need. The winners announced today have until April 15 to accept the Morehead.
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, Lovelace said. 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 contribute to the university community in their areas of talent and interest and to continue to contribute to their communities as Morehead alumni, he said.
"These are dynamic young leaders looking for a challenge," Lovelace said. "That eagerness to give to others and to their communities is what we are seeking in Morehead Scholars."
Lovelace said a Morehead gives a young leader tools for creating an extraordinary life: a top-notch education at a leading university; a network of 179 enterprising peers and 2,500 accomplished alumni mentors; international travel and internships; and a lifelong challenge to do more good for the world around them than they do for themselves.
For the past two years, Morehead Scholars have won Rhodes Scholarships to England’s Oxford University, one of the world’s most competitive and prestigious awards for graduate study. Karine Dubé won in 2002 and Liz Kistin last fall.
Since the Rhodes program began in 1902, 37 UNC students have won the honor. The first class of Morehead Scholars graduated from Carolina in 1957; of UNC’s 22 Rhodes winners since 1962, 19 have been Morehead Scholars.
Currently, 179 Morehead Scholars study on campus, making outstanding contributions in many areas of university life. For example, Morehead Scholars in Carolina’s classes of 2002 and 2003 included editors of five campus publications; a vice president of the student body; president and vice president of the Black Student Movement; chair of the Undergraduate Honor Court; co-president of the Campus Y, UNC's largest student organization; two presidents of the UNC Dance Marathon, the university’s largest charity fundraiser; chief marshal of the senior class; president of the Order of the Golden Fleece honorary society; and a Phi Beta Kappa president.
These classes also produced a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a Luce Scholar, two Fulbright Scholars and UNC’s first recipient of the George J. Mitchell Scholarship for graduate study in Ireland. In the past decade, nine Morehead Scholars have won the Truman; five, the Luce; and five, the Fulbright.
For more information, visit the Morehead Foundation's site on the World Wide Web, http://www.themorehead.org or call the foundation at 919-962-1201.
The 2004 Morehead winners are listed below, alphabetically by North Carolina county, state and country. Winners listed in more than one place are noted with an asterisk.
NORTH CAROLINA WINNERS
Beaufort
Buncombe
Burke
Caldwell
Chatham
Craven
Cumberland
Durham
Greene
Henderson
Iredell
Mecklenburg
New Hanover
Pitt
Randolph
Rowan
Wake
Warren
OUT-OF-STATE WINNERS
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Idaho
Indiana
Massachussetts
Nebraska
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
INTERNATIONAL WINNER
Scotland
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Photos URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar04/moreheadphotos2004.html
Contacts:
For questions about the scholarship, the Morehead Foundation, the selection process or the winners, call Charles E. Lovelace, foundation executive director, 919-962-1201 by 5 p.m. today. This weekend he can be reached at 919-929-9664.
For help with the receipt of information or photos, call L.J. Toler at 919-962-8589. This weekend, page 919-216-2584 or call 919-219-6374.