Carolina Scholars award honors W. Roger Soles

William R. Soles Jr. and M. Janette Soles have made a $600,000 contribution to the UNC Carolina Scholars Program in honor of their father, retired Jefferson-Pilot chairman and chief executive officer W. Roger Soles.

The gift will create the W. Roger Soles Carolina Scholars Fund, which will provide academic scholarships to four outstanding students per year from the state of North Carolina.

"Our father is a self-made man from eastern North Carolina who never forgot his roots," said William Soles. "Part of these roots was his time at Carolina. We can think of no better way to honor him than with a gift that will give others from this region a UNC education."

The Soles Carolina Scholars Fund will give preference to students from Whiteville High School, where Roger Soles was valedictorian at age 14, from Columbus County and from other schools in the eastern region of North Carolina. William Soles said that this scholarship will not only benefit the University by attracting excellent students but will also encourage high school students to excel. "The rigorous academic standards required to obtain and maintain Carolina Scholar status should produce graduates who will contribute much to society," he said.

The Carolina Scholars Awards, established in 1995, are highly coveted comprehensive academic scholarships. The average SAT score for both in- and out-of-state recipients of these awards is close to 1,550 (out of 1,600). Approximately 30 new Carolina Scholars enter UNC each year. Sixty percent are from North Carolina.

The program covers tuition, fees, books and partial room and board, one-on-one faculty mentoring and leadership development opportunities to enhance students' personal and intellectual experience at Carolina.

William Soles is president and chief executive officer of Greensboro-based Soles Brower Smith & Co., an investment banking firm serving small and middle-market companies. Janette Soles is an assistant state attorney general in Raleigh.

W. Roger Soles graduated from Carolina with a bachelor's degree in commerce in 1947. He joined Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Co. in Greensboro as a securities analyst and became chairman and chief executive in 1967. He served in this position for 26 years.

"In considering ways to honor our father and benefit the University we determined that programs such as Carolina Scholars are critically important to the continued competitiveness of the University in the world of higher education," said William Soles.

-Victoria Moxey '02