# Morehead-Cain Scholarship

The Morehead-Cain Scholarship (originally the Morehead Scholarship) was the first merit scholarship program established in the United States. It was founded at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1951 and was named for its benefactors, John Motley Morehead III and the Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation. The Morehead-Cain is among the most prestigious undergraduate educational opportunities worldwide, with only 3 percent of candidates gaining admission each year.
In addition to covering all expenses for four years of undergraduate education at UNC, the scholarship also includes fully funded summer enrichment activities and funding for independent research, internships, and international study. Mary Cain, who donated $100 million to the program in 2007, called it "the gold standard in undergraduate educational opportunities."

## History

In 1945, businessman, industrial scientist, and philanthropist John Motley Morehead III bequeathed $130 million to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) to create the John Motley Morehead Foundation and the university's planetarium. The Morehead Foundation created the Morehead Scholarship Program in 1951. This was the first non-athletic merit scholarship program in the United States. This undergraduate scholarship covers all expenses for four years of study at UNC. Morehead-Cain scholars can also access " a network of peers and mentors, challenging internships and summer experiences, and an opportunity to travel the world." The scholarship was designed to attract "gifted student leaders" from across the United States to the university.
The Morehead Scholarship's first director was Robert Fetzer, a former UNC track coach and athletic director. In 1958, he was replaced by Roy Armstrong, former director of admissions at the university. In 1972, Mebane M. Pritchett, a Morehead alumnus, became the executive director and served until 1987. Charles E. Lovelace Jr., another Morehead alumnus, was the next president. The current president is Chris Bradford.
Originally just for students from North Carolina, the program expanded to include students from across the United States in 1954. In 1968, the first Morehead scholar from Great Britain was selected, followed by the inclusion of women in 1974. The program now includes students from Canada and various other countries. In 2022, the incoming freshman class of Morehead-Cain scholars includes 75 students—41 scholars from North Carolina, 34 from other states, and ten international scholars from Canada, India, South Sudan, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
The foundation and scholarship were both renamed Morehead-Cain in 2007 after the Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation contributed $100 million to expand the program. Mary Cain gave this gift in honor of her husband Gordan, who was a major stockholder in Union Carbide and helped found Texas Petrochemicals. Before her gift, the Morehead Foundation had $115 million.

## Selection Process

The Morehead-Cain looks for "leaders with an ability to influence, energize, and inspire others to make an impact." Each student embodies four key pillars: leadership, moral force of character, scholarship, and physical vigor.
The Morehead-Cain Scholarship is extended by invitation only. To be considered, students must first be nominated as the most accomplished student at their respective school or program. In the case of exceptional out-of-state applicants who do not attend a nominating institution, the UNC Office of Undergraduate Admissions will bring them to the attention of Morehead-Cain through the Admissions Referral Program. These select few candidates are then invited to apply directly for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship.
Annually, there are around 2,000 nominees with several rounds of interviews and activities to determine final selection. Around 50 to 75 scholarships are offered each year, with about 200 Morehead scholars on campus at any one time.

## Scholar Experience

The Morehead-Cain Scholarship program offers a variety of opportunities for its scholars to engage in global experiences, including funding for gap year programs and study abroad programs that are not covered by UNC.
Scholars also have the opportunity to seek grant funding to embark on developmental experiences. Since its inception, Morehead-Cain has granted $1.5 million for scholars to "participate in workshops, retreats, and clinics; engage in professional development opportunities; conduct research and pursue innovative ideas; acquire unique skill sets; and present at conferences throughout the world."
Morehead-Cains play an instrumental role in the University of North Carolina community, including founding over 100 campus organizations and all kinds of companies and nonprofits.These include popular a cappella groups like the Clef Hangers and the Loreleis, several campus publications such as the Cellar Door, the Phoenix, and the Blue & White, and athletic programs like women's varsity lacrosse and crew.
Approximately three-quarters of all Morehead alumni have postgraduate degrees from leading universities such as Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, UNC, the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, Yale, and Oxford University.

## Summer Enrichment Program

Starting in 1974, the scholarship began providing opportunities for international travel and internships through the Morehead Summer Enrichment Program. The program is now structured across four summers and fully funds activities in four areas: a three-week outdoor leadership course, research or travel across five to twelve weeks to provide a global perspective, professional experience through an internship, and working on a community's challenges for eight to ten weeks to gain an understanding of citizenship and civic collaboration.

## Notable alumni

* Sallie Krawcheck, former head of Bank of America's Global Wealth and Investment Management
* Alan Murray, CEO of Fortune and former Washington Bureau Chief of CNBC
* Sherilynn Black, neuroscientist and assistant professor of the Practice of Medical Education at Duke University
* Keith Bradsher, New York Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
* Roy A. Cooper, Governor of North Carolina
* David Gardner, co-founder of the Motley Fool
* Ann Livermore, director of Hewlett-Packard 2004–2011
* Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International
* Danae Ringelmann, co-founder of Indiegogo
* Bill Bamberger, documentary photographer and photojournalist
* Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian
* Jerry Blackwell, prosecutor in the Derek Chauvin murder trial
* James G. Exum, chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
* Tim Sullivan, chair of Ancestry.com
* Frank Bruni, New York Times journalist
* Casey Burns, graphic illustrator, poster designer
* Galahad Clark, founder of Vivobarefoot
* Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health and the Human Genome Project
* Jim Cooper, U.S. Congressman
* Karen Stevenson, U.S. magistrate judge and the first black woman from the United States to win the Rhodes Scholarship
* Bobby Evans, former general manager of the San Francisco Giants
* Adam Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
* Tyrell Godwin, Major League Baseball player
* Norman E. Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute
* Shilpi Somaya Gowda, best-selling novelist
* Anthony Stephen Harrington, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil
* Peter Blair Henry, dean of New York University Stern School of Business
* Matthew Heyd, Episcopal priest
* Gill Holland, film producer
* Ricky Hurtado, co-director of the North Carolina Scholar’s Latinx Initiative and named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list for education
* Mike McIntyre, U.S. Congressman
* Jessica Polka, director of non-profit ASAPbio
* David Price, U.S. Congressman
* James Reston Jr., journalist and writer
* Jennifer Roberts, former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
* Clive Stafford Smith, the human rights lawyer
* Jennifer Steinbrenner, president of the New York Yankees Foundation and the New York Yankees Tampa Foundation
* James Surowiecki, journalist and staff writer for The New Yorker
* Bill Swofford, 1960s pop singer known as Oliver whose songs "Good Morning, Starshine" and "Jean" became top-three Billboard hits
* John Swofford, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner
* Jim Tanner, National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association agent and founder of Tandem Sports
* G. Kennedy Thompson, former president and CEO of Wachovia Corporation and First Union
* Malcolm Turner, former president of the NBA G-League
* Richard Vinroot, former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
* George L. Wainwright Jr., former Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
* Tony Waldrop, record-setting track-and-field athlete and president of the University of South Alabama
* Dennis Whittle, co-founder GlobalGiving
* Candice Woodcock, a contestant on Survivor: Cook Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains