11/13/97
ATHENS, Ohio-- The final round of Ohio University's 51st Annual American History contest is scheduled for Dec. 4 on the Athens campus, with the first place winner receiving a four-year, full tuition Ohio University scholarship and $100. Students will also receive over $600 in cash awards and over $10,000 in scholarships.
More than 18,000 students at 380 Ohio high schools took the preliminary multiple-choice examination at their local schools in October.
In the preliminary round, Douglas Hoffman, of Hoover High School in North Canton, was the top scorer, answering 71 of the 80 questions correctly. Hoffman will receive the Carl Gustavson Book Award, named in honor of Gustavson, an Ohio University Emeritus distinguished professor of History. This year's book is "To Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women's Lives and Labors After the Civil War," by Tera W. Hunter.
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.
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, three of the schools will be able to nominate a student for a $1,000 Ohio University scholarship.
Participants will be notified Jan. 20, 1998 of the results of their essay examinations.
The contest is sponsored by the Ohio University College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of History and the Admissions Office, and is directed by Professor of History Mavin Fletcher.