NEWS

Local angles: Greensboro, Winston-Salem

Photo note: To download a photo, see bottom of page

Carolina's Eric Johnson wins fellowship to help foundation help North Carolinians

By L.J. TOLER
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- Eric David Johnson of Greensboro, who will graduate May 19 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been chosen from among 21 applicants statewide for a two-year fellowship with the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

Johnson, 22, a history major with a 3.8 grade-point average, said that working with the Winston-Salem foundation will allow him to serve others while helping him choose a career path that achieves his own goals. Those include improving the quality of and access to public education and enhancing prosperity in rural and inner-city areas. He plans to attend graduate school and/or law school later and perhaps seek public office.

"This fellowship will give me a better sense of the critical issues facing North Carolina and how individuals and organizations are addressing those needs," said Johnson, the son of David and Maxine Johnson of 2810 Asbury Terrace, Greensboro, and a graduate of Walter Hines Page High School.

"I have no doubt that Eric will make the most of this opportunity," said Dr. Robert Greenberg, director of the UNC Office of Distinguished Scholarships and Intellectual Life. "He has incredible potential and will go very far."

Starting July 1, Johnson will help evaluate grant proposals and monitor projects funded by the foundation, which seeks to enhance the quality of life in North Carolina.

"Based on the applications we have received, we believe the fellowship is a highly coveted position," said Tom Ross, foundation executive director. "The competition for it is remarkable.  Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that Eric Johnson is the ideal person to join the foundation. His intellect, interests, experiences and background are exactly what we look for in the ideal fellow."

A Rhodes Scholar nominee from Carolina last semester, Johnson also was admitted to the London School of Economics, an opportunity he may pursue later. This year, he won the first William S. Powell Award from the North Caroliniana Society, to a senior who has contributed to understanding of the history and traditions of the university. He also won the Cornelius O. Cathey Award for the undergraduate who has made the greatest contribution to the quality of campus life by participating in student programs or creative, persistent effort in developing new student programs.

Johnson came to Carolina in 1998 on a Morehead Award, a full, four-year merit-based scholarship modeled on the Rhodes. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key national honor societies; the honorary society Order of the Golden Fleece, which inducted him for lasting contributions to UNC; and the honorary/service group Order of the Grail-Valkyries, which honored him for scholarship, leadership, character and service.

As a freshman, he founded Carolina Cancer Focus to raise money for research and coordinate cancer-related service. His sophomore year, Johnson founded a program that sends UNC students to low-income North Carolina counties that are underrepresented at the university, where they discuss college life with high school students.

He has tutored students from Durham's underprivileged neighborhoods and been a camp counselor for male cancer patients, ages 10 to 15. His volunteer activities have included visiting patients in the bone marrow transplant unit of UNC Hospitals and promoting three annual White Ribbon Campaigns at UNC, of men working to end men's violence against women. A member of Chi Psi Fraternity, Johnson also ran club track and played intramural flag football and basketball.

Johnson designed studies of public higher education and of modern Southeast Asian history. As a teaching assistant, he led sessions on "A Student's Historical Carolina" and "The Political Economy of Higher Education in North Carolina." He also designed a course that he taught this spring, "What's a University For: Service, Activism, Controversy and Personal Growth on University Campuses."

In summer programs funded by the Morehead Award, Johnson traveled in Southeast Asia; graduated with excellence from an Outward Bound program; and worked as a juvenile probation counselor in Seattle and an investment banking analyst in New York.

The two jobs "enabled me to observe institutions on two opposite ends of the spectrum -- one devoted to public service and one focused on private gain," he said. "The image of poverty-stricken villagers in Vietnam reminded me of my duty to humankind, regardless of nationality."

- 30 -

Photo: To download a photo of Johnson, click to http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/johnson_eric.jpg.

Contact: Eric Johnson, 919-914-8300 through May 18 and later at 336-288-4590