Students from Around the Nation to Compete for $17 Million in UC Scholarships

The University of Cincinnati’s 12th annual Cincinnatus Scholarship competition will bring 1,450 students from 33 states and a total crowd of more than 3,100 people (counting their parents) to campus on Saturday, Feb. 16, to compete for a total of $17 million in scholarships. Everyone goes home a winner, with the top prize holding 10 full, four-year scholarship awards of $80,000 for tuition, books, room and board and fees. Every participant will receive no less than $2,000 per year in four-year awards, resulting from a day of competing in essay and leadership exercises.

The Cincinnatus Scholarship Competition, named after the Roman farmer who led his city to victory when Rome was invaded in 458 B.C., awards students for qualities beyond academic talent, including leadership and commitment to community service. As part of the scholarship commitment, each UC Cincinnatus scholar performs 30 hours of community service per academic year, exemplifying UC|21 values of responsible civic life and action. UC’s Student Financial Aid Office reports 2,651 students are currently Cincinnatus scholars, meaning that over this academic year, they’ll contribute 79,530 hours of service to the community.

Lucinda Cohen, assistant director of UC Student Financial Aid, says that in addition to the competitors and their parents, 525 current UC Cincinnatus scholars and 250 UC faculty and staff will volunteer as everything from campus guides and speakers to assessors for the essay and leadership exercises. The competition will fill 100 classrooms across campus.

In addition to the 10 full $80,000 scholarship awards, the competition includes

• 100 Founders awards of $24,000 ($6,000 per year)
• 200 University awards of $14,000 ($3,500 per year)
• Century awards of $8,000 ($2,000 per year)

UC President Nancy L. Zimpher will deliver the 9 a.m. student keynote address in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

UC alumnus, former Cincinnatus Scholar and Carl H. Lindner Honors- PLUS Program alumnus Jay Hummel, a Bridgetown native who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor degree in business administration (2002) and with his MS in accounting (2003), will address the competitors after their lunch session in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

Hummel, a LaSalle High School graduate who is also an alumnus of the UC Honors Program, was awarded UC’s Presidential Leadership Medal of Excellence in 2003 for his commitment to leadership and service on and off campus, and was also named Mr. Bearcat, a recognition of the top all-around male UC graduate. He was the graduate keynote speaker at his UC Commencement Ceremony in 2003.

Hummel launched a UC tradition in 2000 when he helped to develop the Just Community banner, a patchwork of flags created at new student orientation, to be raised at Convocation. He was the university’s 2002 Homecoming King and was the student recipient of the 2001 Just Community Award. Hummel also served offices in the Greek social fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and was president of UC’s most prestigious honorary organization, Sigma Sigma.

The awards continue to follow Hummel after his career at UC. At age 26, he was named to the Cincinnati Business Courier’s “40 under the age of 40,” a recognition of the region’s brightest leaders. Hummel is manager of the Ward Group, a Cincinnati-based consulting firm. He is past president of Give Back Cincinnati, the region’s largest young professional non-profit organization. Hummel also serves on the Principal’s Advisory Board at LaSalle High School and is program lead for the Cincinnati Sprout Fund, a non-profit venture capital organization. He is a recipient of UC’s Norman R. Baker Distinguished Alumni Award.

The nation’s top high-school seniors were invited to compete in Cincinnatus XII after applying to UC last fall. To be considered for competition, they needed to meet a minimum 3.2 high-school GPA, with further eligibility determined by the academic program they selected at UC.

UC’s 2007 record freshman class for the Uptown Campus held the highest ACT score (24.2) of any incoming freshman class, as well as the most Cincinnatus Scholarships (1,247) ever awarded to academically qualified freshmen.

Cincinnatus Agenda for pre-registered participants, Feb. 16

8 a.m. – Registration for previously invited candidates only, Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center

8:50 a.m. – College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) student Jennifer Brown, who was awarded a full Cincinnatus Scholarship in 2004, will sing the national anthem.

8:55 a.m. – Eleven full Cincinnatus Scholarship awardees will present the flags to their corresponding colleges.

8:58 a.m. – Morning welcome delivered by Mitchel D. Livingston, UC vice president of Student Affairs and Services

9 a.m. – Keynote address from UC President Nancy L. Zimpher

9:15 a.m. – Essay and problem-solving exercises across campus (closed to media)

Noon – Lunch in Fifth Third Arena

1 p.m. – Address by UC alum Jay Hummel

1:45 p.m. – College sessions

3-4:30 p.m. – Optional residence hall tours of Turner, Schneider, Daniels and Siddall halls

Other Financial Awards Available at UC