The Tarheels

News Release
University of North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL – Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football star Julius Peppers has donated $100,000 to a UNC General Alumni Association scholarship program that supports African-American students.

The Light on the Hill Society Scholarship, a tribute to Carolina’s earliest black graduates, is a vehicle for alumni and friends to support black freshmen who exhibit academic excellence and the potential to contribute while at Carolina and after graduation.

“I am happy to support the Light on the Hill Scholarship,” Peppers said. “For a number of years, I have been thinking about how I could give something back to the University. Helping young people achieve their dream is a personal priority for me. Giving to this particular effort is my attempt to assist and reward some of our best and brightest students.”

Peppers, who also lettered in basketball at Carolina, was a key contributor to the Tar Heels’ reaching the 2000 Final Four. eHeIn football, he starred as a defensive end and won the Lombardi Award, given to the country’s top college lineman. He was a unanimous All-American in 2001.

Peppers was picked No. 2 overall in the 2002 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers. He has played in four Pro Bowls and will appear in the 2009 Pro Bowl Sunday (Feb. 8).

The Light on the Hill Society that oversees the scholarship program is part of the Black Alumni Reunion, one of the alumni association’s largest groups. Richard “Stick” Williams, chair of the Light on the Hill board, said Peppers’ gift “epitomizes the man that Julius has grown to be.

“In his very quiet way, he has reached out on a number of occasions to encourage the growth and engagement of young people,” Williams said. “Serving the community and giving back is very important to him – this gift to the Light on the Hill Scholarship proves just that.”

The scholarship name was inspired by the University’s motto, light and liberty.

Robyn Hadley, co-chair of the scholarship committee, said that in 2005, Peppers sponsored an enrichment program for middle school and high school boys from the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and Chatham County schools as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Black Alumni Reunion.

“He wanted these young men to understand what a college education and UNC had done for him and what it could offer them,” Hadley said. “That was my first glimpse of his strong but quiet commitment to giving back to UNC and the community at large. Julius’ gift serves as a shining example of the dedication and commitment members of the Carolina family have for the University.”

The Light on the Hill Scholarship effort began at the 2005 Black Alumni Reunion. Organizers challenged alumni to contribute $1,952 each – representing the 1952 class year of Harvey Beech, UNC’s first black graduate – to become founding members of the scholarship fund. Since then, more than 200 Carolina alumni and friends have made tax-deductible gifts to the fund, ranging from a few dollars to several thousand.

As the Light on the Hill fund has grown, so has the number of scholarships. The program awarded its first two $1,000 nonrenewable scholarships in 2007. At the annual scholarship banquet in November, the Light on the Hill selection committee chose four recipients from more than 100 applicants. Organizers hope to award a full scholarship eventually.

Among other alumni association scholarship efforts are:


Annual GAA Scholars, established in 2001, giving preference to children of alumni based on academic credentials, SAT scores and extracurricular activities. In 2007, the Douglas S. Dibbert Scholar designation, in honor of the association president, was added to the top GAA Scholars.
The J. Maryon “Spike” Saunders Scholarship, established in 1995 in honor of the late longtime leader of the association.
Scholarships supported through fundraising by association alumni clubs around the country.


Recipients of scholarships from those association efforts are chosen by
UNC’s Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. The alumni association programs are in addition to programs created from fundraising by UNC’s Office of University Development for student scholarships.

“For generations our alumni have given back to Carolina,” Dibbert said. “For many, their generosity was prompted by the fact that their own Carolina experience was made possible by the scholarship support they themselves received. We are most grateful for Julius Peppers’ wonderfully thoughtful gift. His generosity not only will provide educational opportunities to many future Tar Heels, but also will inspire others to join him in helping grow the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship.”

 

I think I will donate $100,000 to UNC for the general scholarship fund to support caucasian american's who attend college. Is that as racist as what Peppers did?

 

that's called the Morehead Scholarship

 

Heels released their 2009 football schedule today. Citadel, Ga Southern, Uconn, and ECU. Not exactly a murderer's row.

 

So you are saying a black person can't get the Morehead Scholarship? I wasn't aware of that clause in it. Cause I'm fairly certain no white people will get the African American Scholarship.

 

They should have 5 wins and one loss without stepping on the field. The fifth win being Duke and the expected loss to NC State again. Just messing! (But the 5 wins is no joke!) But they will need 7 next year to qualify due to two non-BCS opponents in Citadel and Ga Southern.

 

No, you pretend that there are similarities because, as a State fan, you wish there were. Chuck Amato never achieved anywhere near the coaching success that Butch Davis has. You might as well claim similarities between Amato and any coach who has a highly ranked recruiting class.

Boston College has been even better since losing O'Brien (he never had a 10 win regular season at BC, but Jags did in '07), while N.C. State has yet to post a winning record with him. Don't you wonder if it was the system up there and maybe not the coach? It seems like for a guy who keeps getting credited for coaching up players you wouldn't hear so many excuses about needing to wait for State's recruits to develop.

Are you trying to embarrass yourself? In the last 25 years, one and only one coach has taken the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs. You don't make the NFL playoffs by being a "great recruiter with minimal game day results." Even his eventual departure had a lot more to do with making bad choices as GM than coaching. Stop being retarded. I'm not asking you to admit that you're scared of Butch at UNC, but I would prefer that you stop making excuses because you're scared.

Face the facts. State sucks. You suck at basketball, you suck at baseball, and you suck at football. I understand that football is the only sport where you still have hope of being competitive, and therefore you and other State fans are more obnoxious when talking about it, but it's not going to happen. You had one moment in the sun when you lucked into Philip Rivers, but it's over now. By all means, gloat about kicking Carolina's ass on the field because that actually happened, but don't embarrass yourself by making all these stupid statements trying to minimize Davis or deify O'Brien. State sucks and will always suck because you are N.C. State, the red-headed stepchild of the North Carolina system.

 

Looks like I hit a nerve. For the record, I didn't say there was no comeback route, I said that NFL teams do not use it, which they don't. The comeback is something you run when your players aren't skilled enough to complete timing routes, so in those cases the quarterbacks wait for the receiver to turn and start running back towards the line of scrimmage before throwing it. It's not used at the NFL or major college level precisely because that gives the DB to make a break on the ball and raises the risk of an interception. Those teams are good enough to use timing routes, so they'll use a deep curl instead, which has the quarterback throw before the receiver even makes his break.

See, now you learned something about football.