The Morehead-Cain Foundation this fall will welcome to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 57 new Morehead-Cain Scholars from across North Carolina, the United States and the world. The class of 2018 will include:
- Thirty-one scholars from North Carolina
- Twenty-six scholars from outside North Carolina, including:
- Sixteen scholars from eleven different states;
- One scholar each from Brazil, Italy, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam;
- One scholar from Canada; and
- Four scholars from the United Kingdom.
The Morehead-Cain Foundation is the home of the first merit scholarhip program in the country. The Morehead-Cain Scholarship covers all expenses for four years of undergraduate study at UNC-Chapel Hill. In addition, it features a distinctive program of summer enrichment experiences. Over four summers, scholars will have the opportunity to complete an outdoor leadership course, carry out public service in the United States or abroad, conduct research at sites across the world and gain experience in private enterprise.
The summer enrichment program is complemented during the academic year by the Morehead-Cain Discovery Fund. Scholars are encouraged to more deeply explore their particular interests, whether they involve studying under celebrated artists, attending leadership retreats or obtaining wilderness first responder certification. From conducting research about traditional medicine in Ecuador to creating a documentary about hidden Jewish communities in Ethiopia, Morehead-Cain Scholars are given resources to pursue educational opportunities wherever they find them.
Selection criteria for the Morehead-Cain are leadership, academic achievement, moral force of character and physical vigor. Morehead-Cain recipients are chosen solely on the basis of merit and accomplishment.
More than 220 Morehead-Cain Scholars currently study on campus, making outstanding contributions across the full range of University life. From student government to community service to the performing arts, Morehead-Cain Scholars play a prominent role in Carolina’s vibrant student community. For example, UNC’s recently elected student body president, senior class president and student attorney general are all Morehead-Cains, as are the outgoing student body president, Honor Court chair and student attorney general.
Within the past 10 years, 13 Morehead-Cain Scholars have won Rhodes Scholarships to England’s Oxford University, one of the world’s most competitive and prestigious awards for graduate study. Since the first Morehead Scholars graduated from Carolina in 1957, 30 of UNC’s 33 Rhodes Scholars have been Morehead-Cain graduates.
Morehead-Cain Scholars have accounted for 24 of the University’s 36 Luce Scholars and 19 of Carolina’s 32 Truman Scholars, among the nation’s most generous and distinguished awards for graduate study. Twenty-seven Morehead-Cain Scholars have won Fulbright Fellowships.
Read more about the new scholars.
Published April 25, 2014.