Students in the Stamps Scholars program at the University of Mississippi work as volunteers last spring in the annual Big Event. With 13 new students arriving this fall – the program’s second-largest group of incoming freshmen in the nation – Ole Miss has the nation’s fourth-largest Stamps Scholars program. Submitted photo
OXFORD, Miss. – With the arrival of 13 incoming freshmen, the Stamps Scholars program at the University of Mississippi is setting records for growth.
The 2019 cohort represents the second-largest group of incoming freshmen among the 28 Stamps Scholarship partner universities. The new class also brings the total number of students at UM to 41, making Ole Miss the fourth-largest in the nation in the program.
Stamps Scholars are chosen for their academic excellence, leadership experience, and exceptional character.
“Ole Miss’s Stamps Scholars benefit from a nurturing campus community with faculty who are deeply engaged in and concerned with the greater national and global communities,” said Randy McDow, executive director of the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation.
“Ole Miss will have the fourth-largest Stamps program in the nation this fall, thanks to the leadership and personal attention of Provost (Noel) Wilkin, Dean (Douglass) Sullivan-González, and the faculty and staff that dedicate time to these students. The UM Stamps Scholars program is world-class.”
Incoming UM freshmen include:
- Brandon Gabriel Ashmore, a pharmaceutical sciences major from Brandon
- Eboni Denise Eddins, a biology major from Olive Branch
- Alaina Camille Edwards, an international studies major from Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Robert Birk Hughes, an electrical engineering and mathematics major from Ocean Springs
- Reinhard Matthew Knerr, a biochemistry major from Paducah, Kentucky
- Taylor Lampkin, a biology major from Terry
- Kelly Li, a public policy leadership major from Hattiesburg
- Andrew Edward Meyer, a public policy leadership major from Shreveport, Louisiana
- Lydia Grace Robbins, a biochemical engineering major from Oxford
- Susan Jennifer Jae-Wa Soh, a general business and Chinese major from Houston, Texas
- Margaret Lynn Walker, a public policy leadership and integrated marketing communications major from Suwanee, Georgia
- Sydney Pearl Wheeler, a biology major from Scottsville, Kentucky
- Morgan Bradford Whited, a pharmaceutical sciences and international policy major from Marion, Arkansas.
“We are committed to this outstanding partnership with the Stamps Foundation to offer amazing educational experiences and support to our most enterprising and academically driven incoming students,” said Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Stamps Scholars are encouraged to set goals above and beyond their degree programs and are supported in creating personalized, challenging academic experiences.
“This top scholarship and program is made possible by the caring generosity of the Stamps family and their desire to transform the opportunities and experiences of students. We are extremely grateful to them for their generosity and their support of our students.”
The 218 Stamps Scholars that constitute the national foundation’s 14th class were selected from more than 254,000 applications. They are passionate about tackling national and global challenges while making impacts on their campuses and local communities.
The value of the Stamps Scholarships for the new class of 218 scholars over their time in school is worth approximately $36 million.
“Through our partnerships with these great universities and colleges, we are able to support some truly outstanding young people as they pursue their goals,” said Roe Stamps, founder and chairman of the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation. “By creating community among them via our conventions and networking, we are helping them connect with others across the country and around the world with similar goals and aspirations.
“This year’s group of new students join us at a time when our alumni network has grown stronger and more capable to be leaders in innovation across STEM, humanities, business, and other fields.”
In 2006, Penny and Roe Stamps initiated a merit scholarship program for undergraduates. Penny Stamps died in December 2018, but her legacy continues. The Stamps Scholars community has grown into a nationwide network of colleges and universities with more than 2,050 current scholars and alumni.
Find out more at http://www.stampsfoundation.org. For more information about creating a named scholarship at the UM, contact Katie Morrison, director of corporate and foundation relations, at 662-915-2135 or katie@olemiss.edu.