FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MOREHOUSE GRADUATES RECEIVE DISTINCTIVE FELLOWSHIPS

ATLANTA, May 12, 1999 Ð Among the almost 500 Morehouse College students who will receive undergraduate degrees at 8 a.m. Sunday on the College's Campus Green, many have accepted fellowships which include foreign study, tuition and board for various graduate programs, and for the first time an award from foreign diplomats through the Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired (DACOR) in Washington, D.C.

Nicholas Brown, a political science and pre-law major from Steilacoom, Wash., has been awarded a stipend from the DACOR Bacon House Foundation to cover partial tuition costs for his first year in law school. Brown, who has been accepted to several of the nation's top law schools, was among three Morehouse students who interviewed in Washington, D.C. for the fellowship, said Dr. Lee Gallo, associate professor of modern foreign languages.

Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired is an association of retired officers of the United States Foreign Service and of other foreign affairs agencies, founded in 1952 to promote the welfare and unity of intent of its members and foster better understanding of the foreign relations of the United States.

"They select about six institutions to encourage students to go into international careers. This is the first time Morehouse has been invited to participate," said Dr. Gallo.

While Brown's fellowship will allow him to cover the costs of law school tuition, two students will spend a year abroad through fellowships from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation.

Kimmy Brown, a psychology major from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Marcus Downs, a sociology and biology major from Harlem, Ga., were both granted Watson Scholarships. "Watson felt that a part of education is allowing one to follow one's passion and travel to those countries as one pursues one's passion," said Dr. Anne Watts, vice provost for special academic programs.

The Watson fellows will each receive $22,000 to cover living expenses and travel costs to immerse themselves in other cultures for one year. Brown will spend the next year studying the affect of governmental policy on juvenile crime and behavior in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Malaysia and Singapore. Downs will study the social and cultural impact of endemic guinea worms in Ghana, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

"It's a school without walls," said Dr. Watts. "We're really excited to have two awards. These are life-changing experiences. They come back more appreciative of who they are and what they can do."

Founded in 1867, Morehouse College is the nation's only historically black, private liberal arts college for men. The College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and graduates 500 a year, conferring bachelor's degrees on more black men than any other institution in the world.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; David Satcher, U.S. Surgeon General; Louis W. Sullivan, president of Morehouse School of Medicine and former secretary of health and human services; and Michael L. Lomax, president of Dillard University and former president of The National Faculty.