Ken Thompson can be called many names.

CEO of a Fortune 500 company. President of America’s fifth-largest bank in assets. Architect of a $14-billion merger. Philanthropist.

But every time the head of Wachovia Bank is introduced to a group, “Morehead Scholar” is always included in his lengthy list of accomplishments.

“For me, The Morehead has been a passport,” Thompson says. “The fact that it is so well known, it’s almost like I’m granted instant credibility.”

When Thompson accepted The Morehead in the late 1960s, the Rocky Mount native appreciated the financial windfall. As he became a Morehead, Thompson appreciated something weightier: The Morehead’s lifelong designation.

“I came to learn that the scholarship has such a history, far beyond the University of North Carolina,” he said. “That has validated the value of The Morehead.”

As Thompson made his way through UNC, he felt a responsibility as a Morehead, “a responsibility to do well.” The American Studies major went on to earn his MBA at Wake Forest and took a job with then-First Union. He’s worked there ever since, fulfilling that responsibility to become an ethical leader.

Today, in addition to navigating the First Union-Wachovia merger, Thompson also serves on the boards of Teach for America, the YMCA and United Way.

“I graduated from Carolina some 30 years ago,” Thompson says, “and I’m still called a Morehead Scholar. It never leaves you.”

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