Wednesday morning, 78 judges from public and higher education, as well as the business community, will gather to consider who among the 700 Sterling Scholar nominees representing 54 public high schools from Cache County to Utah County will advance to the final competition.

Continuing a 47-year tradition, Sterling Scholar directors from the Deseret News and KSL-TV began planning as soon as last year's program concluded to ensure that the reputation of Utah's most prestigious academic recognition program is maintained.

The semifinal judging will bring 676 school nominees to three locations: Davis, Kearns and Mountain View high schools. Following the first round of judging, 195 semifinalists advance to the final round on March 4. Final judging will be held at Alta High School.

From the start, the Sterling Scholar program has emphasized academic recognition for Utah public high school seniors. This program began under former Deseret News education editor Lavor K. Chaffin. He envisioned a program that would raise the standard of academic excellence and felt that the Deseret News should lend both its personnel and financial resources to further the program. This philosophy continues today with the addition of KSL-TV as a cosponsor.

The Sterling Scholar program includes five regions. In this special section are the photographs of Sterling Scholar nominees from public high schools in the Wasatch Front region. The four other regions — Northeast, Central, Southwest and Southeast — conduct Sterling Scholar programs similar to that of the Wasatch Front program, but stand alone and follow their own schedules. Neither the Deseret News nor KSL 5 Television has direct involvement with these.

The process of elimination begins tomorrow for the 700 listed scholars, culminating with an Academy Awards-type program March 25 at Cottonwood High School, where 13 Sterling Scholars and 26 runners-up will be named. In addition, the prestigious General Sterling Scholar, selected from one of the 13 category Sterling Scholar winners, will be announced.

Sixteen universities, colleges, business and technical schools offer scholarships to winners and runners-up. Additional information about these scholarships is included in this section.

Sterling Scholars compete in the areas of scholarship, leadership and community service/citizenship. Soon after school begins each fall, faculty representatives and administrators of each public high school begin the process of selecting their school's Sterling Scholars. The Deseret News and KSL-TV do not take part in the selection of nominees. This is left up to the individual schools with the principals making the final decision.