UNC-CH senior Wesley Price has been selected as one of the 18 Luce Scholars for the 2020-2021 year. A nationally competitive fellowship program, the Luce Scholars Program was launched by the Henry Luce Foundation in 1974 to enhance the understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society. The program provides stipends, language training, and individualized professional placement in Asia for 15-18 Luce Scholars each year.
A double major in Political Science and Biology, Price has “demonstrated a nimble intellect and academic accomplishment across a range of disciplines,” according to Professor Jonathan Hartlyn, Kenneth J. Rockford Distinguished Professor of Political Science at UNC.
Wesley was selected for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship because of his outstanding combination of academic accomplishment, leadership, and character, and yet somehow during his UNC career he has continued to exceed expectations. As evidenced by his 3.92 GPA, Wesley has performed at the very highest of levels in the academy while remaining deeply engaged in the community as a volunteer. He has developed a civics curriculum for local schools as a leader in UNC’s Institute of Politics; has served as a Spanish translator for patients at the Student Health Action Coalition clinic; and has tutored middle school students from under-resourced communities on a weekly basis. He also sang in UNC’s oldest a cappella group, the Clef Hangers.
Price earned induction into Phi Beta Kappa in his senior year, and is writing an honors thesis under the supervision of Professor Sarah Treul, Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor in the Department of Political Science at UNC. Dr. Treul believes “Wesley is well on his way to providing an answer to how federalism can influence redistributive policies. This thesis will make an immediate impact in the fields of state politics, policy, and political economy.” His scholarship is timely and directly related to his passion for civic engagement.
Price’s longer-term career plans are to develop evidence-based policy and programming solutions on issues of public health in the United States. In Asia, he hopes to work on health policy innovation and study model approaches to conquering the disparities between rural and urban health care delivery.
