Wood, health policy major, selected as Phillips Ambassador for study in Thailand

Wood will study in Thailand.

The Phillips Ambassadors program in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences chooses students each year based on academic achievement and commitment to activities, service and leadership roles in the classroom and community. A quarter of the scholarships are reserved for qualified undergraduate business majors and minors from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The program has sent 49 undergraduates to Asia since its launch in 2007. This spring’s recipients – who will study in China, Singapore, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Korea – bring the total number to 58.

High Point and Chapel Hill businessman Earl N. “Phil” Phillips Jr. created the program with a generous gift to the college in fall 2006. Phillips, a business executive and former U.S. ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean region, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Carolina in 1962. He is a former chair of UNC’s Board of Trustees and of N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry.

“The 21st century belongs to Asia,” Phillips said. “To me, studying abroad is not a question – it is the answer. My long-term goal is for every Carolina undergraduate to have an international experience before they graduate.”

Phillips Ambassadors can choose from 54 different academic programs in Asia, including 15 in greater China and 10 in India. For more information, visit www.phillipsambassadors.org.

Scholarship recipients in addition to Wood include John Ames, Elliott Davis, Christine Ezzell and Katlin Smith (from the Kenan-Flagler Business School) and Cheryl Blake, Patrick Dowd, Justin Loiseau and Melissa Megginson (from the College of Arts and Sciences).

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.