Duke, UNC Choose Robertson Scholars

Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have chosen 39 top high school seniors as winners of Robertson Scholarships, merit awards that allow recipients to attend college at both schools.

UNC Chancellor James Moeser and Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane on Wednesday announced this year's winners of the four-year scholarships. Duke offered the scholarship to 16 students; Carolina to 21.

Two additional winners -- Boris Nikolic of Greensboro and Christopher Glazner of Chapel Hill -- were offered the scholarship by both schools and find themselves in the enviable position of choosing whether to become Robertson Scholars at Carolina or Duke.

The winners, invited to enroll as freshmen next fall, come from as far away as Vietnam and as close as Durham and Chapel Hill. They have until May 1 to accept the scholarship. Those chosen at Duke would enroll and graduate at Duke; those chosen by Carolina would enroll and graduate in Chapel Hill. Along the way, all would study on both campuses and participate in numerous joint programs.

Selection criteria included intellectual curiosity, academic merit, commitment to service and adventurousness of spirit, said Eric Mlyn, program director.

The winners will comprise the third class of the Robertson Scholars Program, funded by a $24 million endowment gift from Julian and Josie Robertson of New York City in June 2000. The program provides full tuition, room and living stipends for scholars chosen at UNC or full tuition at Duke. All scholars receive summer community-building and enrichment opportunities in the United States and abroad, support for research and related travel, and laptop computers.

"As we prepare to welcome our third wave of Robertson Scholars, this unique program is bringing exciting changes to both our campus cultures," Keohane said. "Residential exchanges, the physical presence and intellectual interaction of the students on each other's turf, and the high-speed service learning of their summer internships have touched not just individual students but the wider community. With activities and identities on each campus, these young scholars -- many of them leaders outside as well as within the classroom -- exemplify the value of collaboration in shaping the future of education."

Moeser agreed, noting that this spring, for the first time in the program's short history, the first class of Robertsons are living on each other's campuses, as is required in the second semester of their sophomore years.

"Robertson Scholars have excelled as ambassadors for collaboration," he said. "Right now, through their participation in the unprecedented campus switch, UNC-Chapel Hill Robertson Scholars are living and learning on Duke's campus, and Duke Robertson Scholars are likewise immersing themselves in the academic and residential life of Carolina. This courage, curiosity and leadership that our Robertson Scholars have demonstrated are the characteristics that are clearly exemplified by our newest class of Robertson Scholars."

Collaboration by the two universities has been greatly enhanced by the Robertson Scholars Program, Mlyn said. The scholars come together for study-abroad opportunities, internships, special seminars taught by faculty of both universities, research projects and service-learning programs. The program runs a free express bus between Duke and UNC and offers collaboration grants to faculty and students at each university to support joint programs.

Students do not apply directly for Robertson Scholarships. Admissions offices on each campus choose candidates from within each applicant pool -- nearly 18,000 applications at Carolina and almost 17,000 at Duke. This year, for the first time, applicants could complete forms to express interest in the scholarships and provide more information about their leadership and service involvement.

"The program seeks academically talented high school students who have dared to cross boundaries at local, national or international levels and, through their commitment to service, have made a difference in the world," Mlyn said.

Each admissions office chose 120 semi-finalists. From those, selection committees chose 40 finalists at each campus. On March 22-24, finalists interviewed with committees, composed of faculty and staff members and community representatives, at each site.

This summer, the first two classes of Robertson Scholars will embark on program-sponsored community service experiences -- 28 sophomores in placements throughout the world and 32 freshmen in locations in the southeastern United States. For more information about the winners, visit www.robertsonscholars.org.