The Morehead-Cain Foundation Announces Its Class of 2022
April 27, 2018
University Communications
The Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States, founded at the first public university in the country, is proud to announce the largest class in its history.
This fall, Morehead-Cain will welcome to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 79 new Morehead-Cain Scholars from across North Carolina, the United States and the world. The class of 2022 includes:
- 43 scholars from North Carolina
- 36 scholars from outside North Carolina, including:
- 29 scholars from 15 different states and Washington, D.C.
- 3 scholars from the United Kingdom
- 2 scholars from Canada*
- 1 scholar each from Armenia, Italy, Jamaica, Peru, Swaziland*
*Scholar either attended high school in listed country or is from listed country
The Morehead-Cain Scholarship covers all expenses for four years of undergraduate study at UNC-Chapel Hill. It also features a distinctive program of summer enrichment experiences designed to support students as they learn and grow. During the course of four summers, scholars will have opportunities to complete an outdoor leadership course, commit themselves to public service in the United States or abroad, conduct research at sites around the world and gain experience in private enterprise.
The Summer Enrichment Program is complemented by the Morehead-Cain Discovery Fund. During this program, scholars are encouraged to and receive financial support for more deeply exploring their interests, whether those involve studying under celebrated artists, attending leadership retreats or obtaining wilderness first-responder certification. From researching food and agriculture industries in Iceland to examining the impact of innovation and entrepreneurship in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Morehead-Cain Scholars have the resources to pursue educational opportunities wherever they may find them.
As set out in the program’s founding documents, selection criteria for Morehead-Cain are leadership, moral force of character, academic achievement and physical vigor. Morehead-Cain recipients are chosen solely on the basis of merit and accomplishment.
More than 240 Morehead-Cain Scholars 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 UNC-Chapel Hill’s vibrant student community. For example, during the past ten years, five student body presidents, four student attorneys general and four honor court chairs have all been Morehead-Cains.
Since 2000, 14 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 UNC-Chapel Hill in 1957, 31 of its 34 Rhodes Scholars have been Morehead-Cain Scholars.
Morehead-Cains have accounted for 26 of the University’s 39 Luce Scholars, eight of its 17 Marshall Scholars and 19 of UNC-Chapel Hill’s 30 Truman Scholars, among the nation’s most generous and distinguished awards for graduate study. Twenty-seven Morehead-Cain Scholars have won Fulbright Fellowships, three have won Gates Cambridge Scholarships for graduate study at the University of Cambridge in England, two were among the inaugural class of Schwarzman Scholars, an elite China-based graduate scholarship that enrolled its first students in 2016, and one alumnus is among the inaugural class of the prestigious Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program at Stanford University.
Founded in 1945, the Morehead-Cain has been a model for countless merit awards throughout the United States. These include the University of Virginia’s Jefferson Scholars Program, Duke University’s Benjamin N. Duke Scholars Program and Emory University’s Woodruff Scholars Program.
Learn more about the Class of 2022 on the Morehead-Cain Foundation website.