News Release

Phillips funds study abroad scholarships
for UNC students headed to Asia

CHAPEL HILL - Via a gift pledged to the study abroad program, Earl N. "Phil" Phillips Jr. of High Point has created the Phillips Ambassadors Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The gift will create an endowment that will provide scholarships for up to 50 undergraduates annually. A Phillips Ambassador will have the opportunity to select a summer or semester term of study from more than 40 academic programs in Asia, 10 in China and 11 in India alone.

"The 21st-century belongs to Asia," Phillips said. "Hopefully, the Phillips Ambassadors Program will stimulate students to spend their study abroad experiences focused on this increasingly vital region of the world."

A quarter of the scholarships will be reserved for qualified undergraduate business majors and minors. Recipients, named Phillips Ambassadors, will be selected by a committee chaired by the director of study abroad and including representatives from the college and UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. The first ambassadors will be selected in early 2007.

"We are grateful to Phil Phillips for this gift, which will significantly expand study abroad opportunities for our students, and for his longtime leadership and support of international studies at Carolina," said Dr. Madeline G. Levine, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
"Private funding for scholarships is critical; it makes it possible for all UNC students to have the opportunity for meaningful international experiences as preparation for their lives in an increasingly global society."

The gift counts toward the university's Carolina First Campaign goal of $2 billion. Carolina First is a comprehensive, multi-year, private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina's vision of becoming the nation's leading public university.

Phillips, a businessman and former U.S. Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean, earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Carolina in 1962. A member of the UNC Board of Trustees from 1983 to 1991, he chaired the board from 1989 to 1991. In 1995, he received a William R. Davie Award, the highest honor bestowed by the board. It recognizes extraordinary service to the university or society.

"International travel is one of life's great educational experiences," Phillips said. He credits his parents with giving him that opportunity - they traveled the globe when he was a teenager. "That opened my eyes to the world, and I have been traveling and exploring ever since," he said. "I want Carolina undergraduates to experience that same thing."

Students will have a chance to learn more about the Phillips Ambassadors Program at three events this fall: International Campus Kick-Off on Thursday (Sept. 7); a Study Abroad Fair on Sept. 18; and an information session on Nov. 16. For more information, visit http://studyabroad.unc.edu/phillips.

The timing of the program coincides with several other initiatives aimed at furthering global efforts at Carolina. Chancellor James Moeser, in his Sept. 6 State of the University address, said that in 2007 Carolina will celebrate the university's accomplishments in global education. He noted the Phillips Ambassadors Program, as well as plans to dedicate this spring a new Global Education Center that will bring several key international activities under one roof and advance a major academic priority.

Phillips' gift is not his first contribution to international studies at Carolina. In 1992, he established the Earl N. Phillips Jr. Professorship in International Studies to help attract outstanding faculty. He was international executive in residence at Kenan-Flagler in 2003-2004 and received the school's Global Leadership Award in 2001.

Phillips has more than 35 years of international business experience. He retired in 2000 as chairman and chief executive officer of GE Capital First Factors Corp., a High Point asset-based lending company he co-founded in 1972.

Phillips also headed Phillips Interests Inc. and Showplace, real estate and home furnishings showroom management companies, both key components of the International Home Furnishings Market headquartered in High Point.

In 1999 and 2000, Phillips chaired the N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry and co-chaired North Carolinians for Educational Opportunity 2000, which led and promoted the successful $3.2 billion referendum for capital improvements at UNC campuses and the state's community colleges. He served for 16 years on the UNC Endowment Board and for four years on the UNC Board of Governors, which oversees all 16 system campuses.

Phillips' family has embraced his international interests. His daughter, Courtney Phillips Hyder, spent a semester at sea as a Carolina undergraduate; his son, Jordan Phillips, studied abroad in Spain and worked for a private equity firm in Hong Kong. The two graduated from UNC in 1996 and 2004, respectively.

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Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/alum/phillipsearln.phil.jpg

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339, deereid@unc.edu
News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, (919) 962-8595