NEWS

By DEE REID
College of Arts and Sciences

CHAPEL HILL -- Dr. Eric Mlyn, director of the Burch Programs and assistant director of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named director of the new Robertson Scholars Program at UNC and Duke University.

The program, funded by a joint $24 million gift announced last June from UNC alumnus Julian H. Robertson Jr. and his wife Josie, will bring together outstanding Carolina and Duke students for special seminars, service-learning projects and study-abroad opportunities. Robertson Scholars will spend much of their time on both campuses, including one semester in residence at the other university.

The program will provide full tuition, room and living stipends for the scholars chosen at UNC, and full tuition for those selected at Duke, as well as support for research and travel, and top-of-the-line laptop computers for each scholar.

Mlyn, a UNC political scientist for a decade, was selected by a search committee chaired by Wyndham Robertson, Julian Robertson’s sister who is a former vice president for communications at the UNC General Administration and a member of the board of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke.

"I am delighted that Eric Mlyn will provide such an important leadership role for the Robertson Scholars Program," said UNC Chancellor James Moeser. "His involvement with some of our boldest undergraduate programs has prepared him well for this new challenge. The scholars program already has generated substantial excitement among prospective students, affirming the marvelous vision the Robertsons and their generosity are bringing to two of this nation’s finest universities."

Added Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane, "Professor Mlyn’s intellectual interests and experience in leading innovative programs that enrich the undergraduate experience make him an ideal choice to be the inaugural director of the Robertson Scholars Program. I am pleased with his appointment to lead this program that will, I am confident, become a national model for interinstitutional collaboration."

The first class of about 30 Robertson Scholars will be chosen this spring from the next pool of incoming freshmen at Duke and Carolina. Half of the Robertson Scholars will matriculate at UNC and half at Duke, but all will take courses at both campuses.

The scholars will begin with a pre-first-year team-building retreat. Freshman-year activities, including biweekly dinners, will culminate in a spring seminar designed specifically for the scholars.

Between first and second years, a summer experience will focus on the southeastern United States. After the sophomore year, scholars will participate in study-abroad opportunities, research projects, internships, service-learning activities and a senior capstone seminar.

Mlyn, who earned a doctorate in political science from the University of Minnesota, is the author of several books and articles on international security issues. He has taught courses in UNC’s programs in peace, war and defense, as well as international and area studies. In 1998 he became the first director of UNC’s Burch Programs, including the fellows and field research seminars, which provide special research, travel and study-abroad opportunities for undergraduates and faculty mentors.

Last summer, Mlyn led a group of 16 Carolina students on a two-month program studying international security issues at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy. That program included trips to Prague for briefings at the Czech Foreign Ministry and Croatia where students saw first-hand the ravages of war.

Mlyn has been assistant director of the Johnston center since September 1999. He will begin directing the Robertson Scholars Program Nov. 15. Mlyn, whose office will be at UNC, will work with top officials on both campuses.

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UNC College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, 843-6339
UNC News Services contact: Mike McFarland, 962-8593