11/17/99

Contact: Marvin Fletcher, (740) 593-4334

ATHENS, Ohio -- The final round of Ohio University's 53rd Annual American History contest is scheduled for Dec. 2 on the Athens campus, with the first place winner receiving a four-year, full tuition Ohio University scholarship and $100. Other students will receive more than $600 in cash awards and more than $10,000 in scholarships.

More than 17,000 students from 350 Ohio high schools took the preliminary multiple choice examination in October. In the preliminary round, Kai Sung, of Thomas Worthington High School in Worthington, was the top scorer, answering 61 of 80 questions correctly. Sung will receive the Carl Gustavson Book Award, named in honor of an Ohio University Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History Carl Gustavson. This year's book is "Many Thousand's Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America" by Ira Berlin.

In addition to the top scorer, those eligible for the final round's three-question essay examination include the highest scorer in each of Ohio's 88 counties and all county scores in the 99th percentile of scores for all entrants or the second and third highest scorer from each county if ranked in at least the 95th percentile.

The second, third, fourth and fifth place winners will receive one-year Ohio University scholarships of $1,500. The sixth through twelfth place winners will receive $1,250 Ohio University tuition scholarships. Thirteenth through fifteenth place winners will receive $1,000 Ohio University tuition scholarships.

Outstanding High School Awards of $150 and $100 will go to the six schools with the largest number of winners in the two rounds. In addition, the schools will be able to nominate a student for an Ohio University scholarship.

Participants will receive exam results by Jan. 25, 2000. The contest is directed by Professor of History Marvin Fletcher and is sponsored by the Ohio University College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of History and the Admissions Office.