Five from Carolina Earn Distinguished Scholarships
Posted on April 13, 2006Three UNC students and two alumni have won distinguished scholarships from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, the Harry Truman Scholarship Foundation, and the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in Environmental Policy Foundation.
Nicholas Love ’05 and David Chapman ’03 have been awarded 2006 Luce Scholarships to live and learn in Asia – two of 18 such scholarships awarded nationwide.
Love, who has a bachelor of arts degree in biology, is pursuing a master’s degree in zoology at the University of Cambridge in England through a Churchill Scholarship, another distinguished award. He plans to focus on a career in stem cell research. Chapman, who has a bachelor of arts degree in dramatic art, is the assistant director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He also was a 2003 Fulbright Scholar in Hungary.
The Henry Luce Foundation provides the scholarships for a year’s internship in Asia, with the goal of acquainting future American leaders with Asian colleagues in their fields. Candidates must have no prior experience with Asia.
UNC ranks second only to Harvard in producing Luce Scholars. Including Chapman and Love, 26 UNC students and alumni have won the Luce since the program began in 1974. Harvard has had 27 Luce Scholars.
Junior Adam J. Roberts has won a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most distinguished awards.
Roberts, 21, of Midland, was among 323 winners chosen from a field of 1,081 math, science and engineering students nominated by faculty members at U.S. colleges and universities. He will receive up to $7,500 for tuition, fees, books and room and board for his senior year.
Roberts is the 28th Goldwater Scholar from UNC. He is majoring in mathematics and computer science, with a minor in astronomy. He plans to earn a doctorate in computer science and build data analysis tools for scientists, especially physicists and astronomers.
The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation of Springfield, Va., makes the awards annually to sophomores and juniors who demonstrate strong commitment to careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering.
E. Mary Williams, a junior, has won the distinguished Truman Scholarship, worth $30,000 for graduate studies.
A political science and religious studies major from Washington, D.C., Williams was one of 75 recipients selected by the Harry Truman Scholarship Foundation. Nationwide, 311 colleges and universities nominated 598 applicants.
Williams brings Carolina’s number of Truman Scholars to 29 since the first awards in 1977. In the past four years, five UNC students have won the Truman.
Williams is the second Robertson Scholar in a row from Carolina to win the Truman. She plans to earn master’s and doctoral degrees in education, then work toward equal access to quality education in American schools.
Sophomore Nitin Sekar has won a Morris K. Udall Scholarship for academic excellence and commitment to preserving the environment.
Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in Environmental Policy Foundation in Tucson, Ariz., chose 80 winners from among more than 500 applicants nationwide. The scholarships go to students in fields related to the environment, such as Sekar, and to Native American and Alaska natives in fields related to health care or tribal policy.
Congress established the scholarships in 1992 to honor the late U.S. Rep. Udall’s legacy of public service and environmental protection. The awards go to sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated strong academic records and outstanding potential for leadership.
The scholarship will help Sekar realize his goals of studying the connections between wildlife conservation and poverty reduction throughout the world. He also plans to pursue graduate studies in animal behavior and evolutionary biology.
English Professor George Lensing, who directs the UNC Office of Distinguished Scholarships, notes that many scholarships are available to recent graduates, and he has encouraged younger alumni to consider them. Some require a UNC interview for endorsement. Details are available online, or those interested can contact Lensing by e-mail about how to receive the campus endorsement.
Here is a list of a few of the scholarships some alumni may be eligible to pursue. More information is available on our Web site:
- Rhodes Scholarship (candidates may not have passed 24th birthday by Oct. 1 of year of application)
- Marshall Scholarship (must have graduated from college within two years of applying)
- Gates Cambridge Scholarship (may not have passed 30th birthday)
- Hertz Foundation Scholarship (no age limit; may be a graduate student already embarked on a doctorate)
- Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship (must apply within five years of graduation)
- Luce Scholarship (must be no older than 29 in year of entering program)
- Mitchell Scholarship (must not be 30 during year of application)
- Churchill Scholarship (may not have passed 26th birthday)>
- Mellon Fellowship (no age limit)
