UNC, Duke Officials Seek Visionaries for Scholarship

The Robertson Scholars Program will automatically consider all prospective students who apply to either UNC or Duke for an opportunity to receive the scholarship.

The program allows the applicant to live and study on the campus to which they apply for seven semesters and spend the eighth experiencing the other university.

"Every applicant for freshman admission is being considered for this scholarship," said Jerry Lucido, associate provost and director of admissions.

"We have let all the counselors on our mailing list know about the Robertson Scholarship, and we have placed it on our Web site. We have also mailed brochures and information to thousands of prospective students."

The Robertson Scholars Program is funded by a $24 million grant from UNC alumnus Julian Robertson Jr. and his wife, Josie.

Recipients from both schools will come together for seminars and projects outside the classroom in hopes of fostering a productive relationship between the neighboring schools.

Lucido said the selection process is broken down into a series of three stages. "First, the admissions offices reads all of the files," he said. "We are marking and setting aside files of those students who we believe meet the criteria of Robertson scholars. Next we will have a committee that will review about 120 files and choose 40 finalists."

The 40 finalists for UNC will be invited for interviews during a selection weekend in March, Lucido said, after which, 15 recipients will be chosen.

Duke has a similar selection process that will narrow its 40 finalists down to 15 students to make a grand total of 30 Robertson scholars.

"We are looking for students who have demonstrated academic excellence in all of the ways that that is measured, and we are looking for students who have shown some evidence of thinking outside of the box," said Eric Mlyn, director of the Robertson Scholars Program for both universities.

Scholarship officials said they want to attract new types of students to UNC and further enrich the atmosphere on campus. "I think that what the Robertson program does is give UNC another set of resources with which to recruit very special students to this area," Mlyn said.

He also said the Robertson Scholarships will have a different aim than the Morehead Awards, which provide full merit scholarships along with summer internship experiences and international travel and study.

"We have a lot in common (with the Morehead Foundation), but we have a different focus," Mlyn said.

Program officials said the creation of the scholarship has required both schools' administrators to plan together.

"Even before the students have arrived, I would say that the Robertson program has done a great deal in connecting our two campuses," Mlyn said.

Mlyn said he is excited about the future and the incoming freshmen next year because they will be the first class to participate in this program.

"I would call them pioneers," he said. "They are the inaugural class of Robertson Scholars, and they will have a tremendous amount to say about the program. "We may not get everything right, but we want to make the Robertson Scholarship one of the premier scholarships in the nation."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.