Monday, April 22, 2002

By: Elissa Garriss, PR Intern

WILMINGTON, NC – Kemp M. Burdette, junior geology and history double major at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, was nominated by the university for the first Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship.

Burdette, who is enrolled in the university’s Honors Scholars Program, is the son of Wilkes Burdette and Martha Burdette of Wilmington.

“I am delighted that UNCW is nominating such a strong candidate for this prestigious award,” says Dr. Kate Bruce, director of UNCW honors program. “Only one candidate can be nominated from each institution.”

Burdette is conducting an honors project in geology. His academic record is stellar and comments from faculty are exceptional. His career goals include doctoral training in geology. Burdette participated in the prestigious Talent Identification Program offered through Duke University. In this program, he assisted geology classes for middle and high school high ability students for two summers. He is also a distance runner on the UNCW Men’s Track and Field Team.

The Cooke Scholarship was established to help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. Following his death in 1997, Cooke, who was unable to attend college, left most of his fortune from ownership of sports teams and real estate to the foundation named in his honor. In seeking to fulfill its mission, the Cooke Foundation intends to identify young people who have shown unique overall excellence, both in academic endeavors and in extracurricular activities. The purpose of this foundation is to reward young men and women for unusual intelligence, application, deportment, and character.

NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information on the scholarship, visit the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship website at www.jackkentcookefoundation.org or contact Dr. Kate Bruce, director of UNCW Honors Program at (910) 962-3374 or Brucek@uncwil.edu.