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Spotlight: Memories to measure time

Memorial Hall has always been about memories -- from the unforgettable performances made on its stage to the revered names etched on its walls.

There is an eclectic magic to Memorial sparked by all the music and theater and oratory that has filled it and flowed through it over the years.

And it is Memorial, perhaps more than any other building on campus, that reflects the depth and breadth of Carolina on so many intellectual and artistic fronts.

Not long after the new Memorial opened, Norman Thomas, the Socialist candidate for president in 1928, gave a speech there in 1932. So did one of the country's quintessential conservatives, William Buckley, in 1962. So did Gerald Ford, in 1968 before he was president; and Strom Thurmond, in 1969 when he was already holding down the job he still has as South Carolina's senior senator.

Countless other names from across the social, political and religious spectrums have crossed Memorial's stage. They range from Elmo Zumwalt to William Kunstler, David Duke to Jesse Jackson, G. Gordon Liddy to Timothy Leary, Madalyn Murray O'Haire to Billy Graham, Hugh Hefner to Gloria Steinem, Benjamin Spock to Ruth Westheimer.

Want music?

How about Doc and Merle Watson to The Duke Ellington Orchestra. Henry Rollins to Bonnie Rait. The North Carolina Symphony and the Dizzy Gillespie Quartet to Kool and the Gang. Lou Reed with the Swimming Pool Q's to the Gewandhaus Bach Orchestra of Leipzig. Charlie Byrd to Jimmy Buffet. The Gravy Boat and the Red Clay Ramblers to the Memphis Blues Caravan. The Isley Brothers to the Boys Choir of Harlem. The Glenn Miller Orchestra to Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Louis Armstrong to Peter, Paul and Mary. Woody Herman and his Big Band to Harry Chapin. Joan Baez to the U.S. Army Chorus.

Like theatrical productions and performing arts? How about Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight or What's Up Doc? An Evening with Mel Blanc. Plays have ranged from Annie to Evita, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas to Sophisticated Ladies. Dance has ranged from The Royal Ballet of Flanders to the Chuck Davis African American Dance ensemble. Political satire has ranged from The Will Rogers Follies to An Evening with Michael Moore.

Like to hear world-class writers? For starters, how about Toni Morrison, Reynolds Price, Shelby Foote, Norman Mailer, Maya Angelou, John Irving, William Styron, Tom Wolfe, George Plimpton, James Baldwin, Annie Dillard and Truman Capote?

Journalists? There has been a heaping helping of them, including Charles Kuralt, David Brinkley and Tom Wicker.

Such luminaries inspire memories for those who see them; and memories matter, no matter whose they are, especially your own. And that is why many supporters of Memorial Hall plan to gather there this weekend -- to allow people to make one last memory to carry away before it closes its doors for what could be described as a major overhaul, and what many believe will be a transformation. (See box on facing page for details.)

Faculty, staff and students, as well as residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and the surrounding area, have all been invited to help close the curtain as the hall shuts down to undergo renovations for the next two years. One thing they will be able to do is sign a guest book and share their personal memories of the people they have seen and heard in the hall.

Their reminisces will join a collection already gathered by the event's organizers, a sampling of which follows.

Andy's first honor role
Andy Griffith, before he donned a sheriff's star in Mayberry and long before he agreed to serve as honorary chair of the Memorial Hall Campaign Steering Committee, was a star at Carolina.

He remembers walking to his dormitory, Steele Hall, in the winter of 1945 and seeing a notice tacked to a bulletin board at the back of Playmaker's Theatre announcing tryouts for Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers.

He tried out by singing "Shepherd, See Thy Horse's Foaming Mane," a basso song by Oley Speaks. The next day he saw his name listed for the part of Don Alhambra Bolero, the Grand Inquisitor of Spain.

"That would be my first theatrical performance," Griffith said.

He went on to play KoKo in The Mikado and Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore. He got good reviews for performing the roles of Bolero and Porter, but received rave reviews for his rendition of KoKo.

"After The Mikado opened, I became known on campus," Griffith said. "The show was such a hit we got held over for an extra night. During all of the rehearsals and performances for all three shows I believe I was the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. I loved these experiences and remembering them now makes me very happy."

Dog days -- and ears
The North Carolina Symphony has performed at Memorial Hall year after year, and one of the most devoted attendees has been 98-year-old Maxine Swalin of Chapel Hill. She co-founded the symphony along with her late husband, Ben, more than half a lifetime ago.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Swalin said, the symphony always entered the season with a concert in Memorial Hall. She remembers one occasion most of all.

"During that era, there were many dogs who wandered the campus, their ownership obscure," Swalin said. "Because of May's hot Chapel Hill days, the doors and windows to the hall were left open to catch the cooling movement of a late spring breeze."

Also at that time, there was no orchestra pit, and wooden steps led from the center aisle directly onto the stage. All of these factors conspired during one particular oboe concerto to create the lasting memory for Swalin. As the soloist began to play, a stray dog entered through the Cameron Avenue doors and pranced down the center aisle as if drawn by the sound of the oboe.

"It walked up those center steps onto the stage and stood, rapt, in front of the soloist while she continued her piece," Swalin recalled. "The dog was at attention throughout, tail up and frozen with admiration for the beautiful sound.

"At the conclusion of the solo, Benjamin Swalin, my husband, began to conduct the full orchestra in the next movement of the concerto. The dog, apparently disgusted, dropped its tail, gave Ben a dirty look, and proceeded to saunter back down the steps and along the center aisle to whence it had come.

"Ben never forgot the insult."

Memories that dance across time
Memories of Memorial can be intensely personal, sometimes sublime. Many can last a lifetime. A few have changed a life.

Wade Smith, a Raleigh attorney who graduated in 1960, remembers going to hear the great classical guitarist Andres Segovia. Well into his performance, a phone began ringing backstage. And, against Segovia's soft strumming, kept ringing. Segovia continued to play, as the audience grew more and more restless. "Finally, Segovia stopped playing, turned his head slightly to address those in the wings and announced loudly, `Eef eet is for me, please tell them I am beesy!'"

Ty Boyd of Charlotte, a 1954 graduate who founded The Excellence in Speaking Institute, remembers the big bands and Polgar the Magician. He remembers Ray Anthony's band marching through the audience playing "Hark the Sound" and "Dixie."

His favorite memory is of Keely Smith, a girl from Norfolk, Va., who came to Memorial to sing with Louie Prima and his orchestra.

"When she sang on that stage, my hormones were out of control," Boyd said. "She could really sing, too. She was the original Cher. Every guy in that hall would have done anything just to have her look their way. Not sure if Britney Spears or anyone does that for the current male student body. I'm still not completely over it!"

Smith had the same effect on Prima, who ended up marrying her.

William "Stick" Williams, has a similar story, but with a better ending, at least as far as Williams is concerned.

Williams is now a University trustee who lives in Chapel Hill and serves as vice president for Duke Power. Before he graduated from Carolina in 1975, he was a smitten student.

Here's his account of how it happened: "I attended a performance of the Black Student Movement Gospel Choir at Memorial Hall," Williams said. "I watched, in awe, as one of the soloists sang `He's the Reason.' I knew her, and had actually dated her a couple of times before this, but that is when I fell in love with her -- as I listened to that gorgeous voice deliver that song."

The voice belonged to Teresa Holland, and she would become his wife.

A future wedded to the past
Chancellor James Moeser gave a speech about Memorial in January of 2001 at a fundraising event hosted by Bill and Ann Harrison in New York City.

Moeser spoke of how Memorial will be brought into the 21st century in terms of its technical capabilities and audience comfort.

Memorial is the site of the University's major ceremonial functions, Moeser said, but has also been a classroom for students and a vital resource in the University's outreach to the community and the state.

By the time Moeser gave his speech, the state had agreed to invest $10 million for the renovation, and the campus was seeking to raise another $5 million to complete it.

That task now is almost finished.

Of the $5 million sought, just $800,000 remains to be raised in a campaign being co-chaired by Chapel Hill's Pam and Jim Heavner. He is president and chief executive officer of the media company VilCom.

Two Carolina employees have played key roles in getting the campaign this far. One is George Ann Bissett, the campaign director. The other is Priscilla Bratcher, the director of principal gifts, who shepherded the campaign through its early stages.

"We've come a long way from zero to $4.2 million in a short amount of time, about a year and a half of active solicitation," Bratcher said.

There has been tremendous support from alumni, but Bratcher noted that the largest gifts have come from alumni living outside the state.

"We have received some very nice gifts from local people, but it's really time for the community to stretch and make commitments to complete this project."

There is an anonymous donor, a young alumnus from New York, who is willing to match every dollar contributed with fifty cents until the goal is reached. That offer should give added incentive for people who had been thinking about giving to do so, Bratcher said. "We need to complete the campaign by the end of the year."

The new and old
The original Memorial, dedicated in 1885, was torn down after engineers discovered rotted beams in its turtle-shaped ceiling. The new building, completed in 1931, is in the Colonial Revival style and contains 191 marble tablets, including 160 taken from the old hall.

The new hall, because of a shortage of money, also had to use old Memorial's hard wooden benches until 1958. The benches, to the eye of one observer at the time, stood as "mute and painful evidence that the General Assembly of North Carolina believed there is virtue in discomfort for students."

The same could hardly be said today, given that the state appropriated $1 million of seed money for the project three years ago, and $9 million was generated in November 2000 with the passage of the bonds for higher education.

The new Memorial will have air conditioning, a sound shell and other acoustical devices, a bigger stage and more dressing rooms for performers. There will be a bigger lobby, too, to keep people from having to stand outside in the weather before or after the shows, and bigger restrooms, so audiences of more than 1,600 won't have to wait for one of the seven toilets now available.

There will be provisions for new lighting and sound -- and no need to bring back the wooden benches, as there will be new seating as well.

Despite all the changes, Bissett said, the building in many ways will look, feel -- and be -- the same.

"I think one of the best things you can do with a beautiful old building is to renovate it and, in fact, transform it," Bissett said. "It is the heart of the historic campus. The building will retain all of its historical significance to the University. On the outside it will look the same, even the wings for the lobby will be done in the same brick and the same style."

That is one thing that suits Larry Keith just fine.

Keith graduated from Carolina in 1969 after serving as sports editor of The Daily Tar Heel. In 1970, he joined Sports Illustrated, where he developed the concept for Sports Illustrated Kids. And he put to words an enduring memory of the hall.

"My memories of Memorial Hall are not so much of events that defined the wonderful old building, but the wonderful old building itself," Keith said. "I love the look and feel of the place and always have. Yes, I know it's too hot, too cold, too crowded, insufficient and inadequate. But she's still a beauty, ain't she? And right smack in the middle of campus, where such a treasure belongs.

"For my money, the best thing about the transformation is that the dowager will retain her beauty and bearing. The distinguished façade, the imposing columns, the memorial plaques on the lobby wall: They speak of history, tradition and integrity. Do what has to be done. Make it perfect for performer and patron alike. But it will look like Memorial Hall, and it will still be Memorial Hall -- and that's important.

"Our is, after all, the oldest state university, so it's right and proper that we have buildings that reflect that nobility. Memorial Hall simply belongs. They don't make them like that any more, so we're fortunate to have one that was. For me, this is the best memory of all."

'Yield to Heels Day' to promote pedestrian safety

A pedestrian safety awareness campaign that aims to make the Carolina campus a safer place to walk and bicycle kicks off this month. Developed by the Highway Safety Research Center and the Department of Public Safety, the "Yield to Heels" campaign focuses on three messages for drivers and pedestrians: Be Aware. Be Safe. Be Considerate.

To kickoff the campaign, volunteers wearing "Yield to Heels" T-shirts will be stationed at four crosswalks from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 24. The four crosswalk locations are South Road by the Bell Tower, Manning Drive by the dental school, Pittsboro Street across from the State Employees Credit Union and Ridge Road by the George Watts Hill Alumni Center. Volunteers will be distributing information fliers about the campaign along with discounts from local merchants.

The campaign is planned to run through at least the fall and also will include posters, advertising and public service announcements.

"As the University has grown and the campus has experienced more construction and congestion, pedestrian safety has become an increasing concern," said Chief Derek Poarch, director of the Department of Public Safety. "From our standpoint, education and awareness must be used in conjunction with enforcement to improve the situation for all pedestrians on campus. We ask that faculty and staff set an example by reading our safety messages and following them whether on foot, on a bicycle or in a car."

Thanks to a grant from the North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program, a three-member traffic and pedestrian safety unit was established within the Department of Public Safety in July 2001. From July 2001 to January 2002, the unit issued more than 90 citations to motorists for failure to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks, 66 speeding citations (mainly in areas with a high volume of pedestrians) and 70 citations for other violations. The unit also has conducted more than 63 pedestrian safety programs in residence halls, fraternities and sororities.

Despite these efforts, there is still confusion among citizens as to what the laws are regarding pedestrian safety, said Doug Robertson, director of the Highway Safety Research Center. The "Yield to Heels" campaign will try to clear up the myths and give people the facts.

"Many pedestrians believe they always have the right of way, but that isn't true," said Robertson. "If a pedestrian crosses the street at a place other than a designated crosswalk or intersection, the vehicle actually has the right of way; and it is the pedestrian's responsibility to yield to the vehicle. So when we say `Yield to Heels' we aren't just telling drivers to yield to pedestrians, we are also trying to let pedestrians know when they need to yield to drivers."

The Department of Public Safety offers the following tips:

* Pedestrians be aware. Look across all lanes you must cross. Even though one vehicle has stopped, another may pass in another lane. Be safe. Do not assume drivers can stop. Gauge the flow of traffic before you step out onto the road and wait if necessary. Be considerate. Establish eye contact with drivers before crossing.

* Drivers be aware when entering a crosswalk area. Be prepared to stop. Be safe. Do not overtake and pass other vehicles stopped

for pedestrians on your side of the roadway. Be considerate. Establish eye contact with pedestrians.

"It is important that both pedestrians and drivers use good judgment," said Poarch. "No matter who has the right-of-way, we all need to be aware, safe and considerate. Pedestrian safety is everyone's responsibility."

Drivers' speed to be checked

In conjunction with the pedestrian safety campaign, officers from Carolina's Department of Public Safety will be using traffic radar equipment to monitor Manning Drive, South Road and Pittsboro Street, as well as other streets throughout campus, for speeding motorists.

For more information on traffic and pedestrian safety, as well as traffic updates, go to the public safety web site at main.psafety.unc.edu/publicsafety/

Kudos handed out to campus master planners

It was a commencement exercise of sorts, and while there were no tassels flipped or mortarboards flung to the sky, there were hats to be tipped and even some rolled diplomas and plaques to be handed out to an honored few.

The ceremony was held March 27 in celebration of the master plan, in the same room in Morehead Planetarium where, almost exactly a year earlier, the University trustees officially had approved it.

A year ago, though, there was no thick document of paper and prose that could be pointed at to prove the plan's existence.

There were general principles, to be sure, and a host of maps and tight phrases contained in Power Point presentations that had been shown to hundreds of people dozens of times.

Now there is a finished document with more precise details of what kind of campus the plan envisions.

Jonathan Howes served as the event's master of ceremonies. It fell to him to explain that the only official purpose of the exercise was to celebrate and thank the people whose persistent efforts had pushed the plan this far. All of the planning teams who had helped shape the plan had been invited.

Howes also used the opportunity to remind people there is nothing ever final about the need for planning.

"Planning is something that doesn't stop," Howes said, "or at least it shouldn't."

While the University has reached a point that offers a sense of completion and accomplishment, it is really a point on a continuum of ongoing renewal and change.

The master planning process began in the summer of 1998 and was supposed to take 18 months to complete. The fact that it took twice as long, Howes said, spoke to the character of Chapel Hill; and for that no excuses should be offered, no apologies made. The open-ended nature of the process allowed more people to participate, and the increased participation led to a better final product, he said.

Carolina's Linda Convissor served as the facilitator of those countless meetings, making sure that people from the campus and town, from students to town council members, knew the time and place and subject matter of each session.

Even after Convissor took a new job as coordinator of local relations she did not shed the responsibilities of her old one. For the past few months she has been as instrumental as anyone in guiding the team that pulled together the written document, just as she had been instrumental in getting together so many people for so many months to develop the plan.

`'If any one person deserves credit for driving people forward to get the plan we have today, it is Linda Convissor," Howes said.

Howes acknowledged many others, including the late Chancellor Michael Hooker for having the vision to begin the process and Interim Chancellor Bill McCoy for his stewardship between the time of Hooker's death in the summer of 1999 and the arrival of James Moeser as chancellor a year later. Shortly after Moeser took over as chancellor, he was briefed for two hours on the details of the master plan and he has tirelessly championed the plan and the values inherent within it ever since, Howes said.

Howes also acknowledged the consultants from Ayers Saint Gross as "true colleagues," and the two who stood out the most were Adam Gross and Luanne Greene.

"They helped open my eyes -- I think all of our eyes -- to the things we see every day as we walk this campus," Howes said.

Both Gross and Greene were present for the celebration and spoke about the achievement of the campus in developing the plan. Gross again spoke of the plan's importance for a final time with trustees later the same day.

At both events, Gross handed out kind words for the work that had been done here and then handed out the diplomas and plaques in recognition of it.

"This plan may not be perfect for everyone, but if it is any good it is because it was critiqued and beat up and challenged by so many," Gross said. "Today is really a celebration for us. We should all be pleased and proud of the work."

Gross repeated the words that Moeser has said about the master plan: "We express our values by what we build."

"All of you have helped express those values here, and right from the start of the process," he said.

Gross described a "mythic meeting" he and other members of his consulting team had with Mary Beck and Ann Griffin, who was then a facilities planner for the School of Medicine. Almost as soon as they sat down, the two women began talking about the spirit of Carolina and the spirituality of the campus. "If you don't understand that, you may as well forget it and not come back,'' the women told them.

When Gross met with alumni, the first words out of their mouths were, "Don't screw it up."

"It" is that magical quality about the place.

Among the diploma recipients were former Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf and Carolyn Elfland, associate vice chancellor for campus services. Plaques featuring a map of the campus went to Convissor; Howes; and Anna Wu, director for facilities planning, and University Trustee David Pardue. Pardue had served as the chair of the trustees' Buildings and Grounds Committee that had been intimately involved throughout the process.

But Gross reserved the biggest plaque for the chancellor. Gross thanked him for his strong leadership in carrying the process forward after he arrived. Equally important, Gross said, is Moeser's firm commitment to seeing that the guiding principles are followed as the campus continues to grow.

In response, Moeser told Gross, "This has been a great team and, Adam, you have been a great colleague. It's been fun. And the outcome is really splendid, and we are enormously grateful."

School of Public Health lands $1 million gift

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation announced in March a $1 million gift to support the scientific, educational and practice-based initiatives of the School of Public Health.

The foundation's gift to the School of Public Health will be awarded over four years and will go directly to help build the school's new 125,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art research center to house programs in environmental health, epidemiology and nutrition. With its laboratories and the BCBSNC Foundation Auditorium as focal points, the building will be a center for unparalleled discovery and world-class teaching in public health. The school plans to break ground this summer for its new facility, which will adjoin the school's existing Rosenau and McGavran-Greenberg halls on south campus.

"In recent months, Americans have become more aware than ever of the essential role public health plays in our society," said Bob Greczyn, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina president and chief executive officer. "Meaningful partnerships between public and private entities are our most realistic hope for ensuring a healthy future for the people of North Carolina."

Greczyn added that the School of Public Health's commitment to protecting against threats to health, empowering people to lead healthy lives, improving the quality of health services and preparing leaders to advance health directly complement the foundation's mission.

The new research center will enhance the school's ability to conduct innovative research and engage in world-class education in the critical areas of environmental health, epidemiology and nutrition that must be addressed.

"This generous investment in our school strengthens a longstanding relationship between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Carolina's School of Public Health while launching a new partnership with the BCBSNC Foundation," said the school s dean, Bill Roper. "The BCBSNC Foundation Auditorium will serve as a cornerstone for educating new generations of public health leaders, a physical symbol of the missions and joined commitment of these three distinct organizations in ensuring a healthy future for all North Carolinians."

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina created the foundation in 2000 with $15 million to support programs that advance the foundation's mission of improving the health and well-being of the people of North Carolina. The foundation focuses on programs that increase access to health care services for the uninsured; provide health education; promote healthy lifestyles; and support health initiatives that target children, older adults and minorities.

The foundation will support programs and services in response to grant requests, as well as support needs identified by the foundation. Organizations may learn more about the application process or apply for a foundation grant by visiting the company's web site at www.bcbsnc.com

In its 60-plus-year history, the School of Public Health has grown from a division within the School of Medicine to one of the nation's premier schools of public health, enrolling more than 1,200 students annually and having more than 170 full-time faculty members. The school boasts seven academic departments -- biostatistics, environmental sciences and engineering, epidemiology, health behavior and health education, health policy and administration, maternal and child health, and nutrition -- as well as a program in public health leadership and many centers and institutes.

The School of Public Health offers several undergraduate degrees and numerous master's and doctoral programs in addition to a regular complement of distance education courses accessible to the general public and members of the health care community alike. To learn more about the school or to tap into current seminars, lectures and webcasts on topics ranging from bioterrorism and community preparedness to prenatal health and health care financing, visit the school's web site at www.sph.unc.edu

To date, the School of Public Health has raised approximately $35 million during the quiet phase of the University's Carolina First Campaign, a campus-wide initiative intended to position Carolina as the nation's leading public university. The School of Public Health's campaign goals are captured in four basic themes: protecting against threats to health, empowering people to lead healthy lives, improving the quality of health services and preparing leaders to advance health.

Graduate programs rank high in U.S. News ratings

Twenty of Carolina's graduate degree programs and specialty areas are among the top 25 nationwide in U.S. News and World Report magazine's latest rankings. Of those 20, eight made the April 15 issue's top 10.

The magazine was scheduled to hit newsstands April 8.

The Kenan-Flagler Business School placed 17th overall for master's of business administration degree programs. Its specialty areas, the executive MBA program and accounting, both ranked 10th.

Research overall at the School of Medicine was placed in a tie at 24th. Primary care was ranked sixth, and among the specialty rankings family medicine placed fourth and rural medicine placed third.

No new public health rankings were listed this year, but in the specialty area of environmental/environmental health, Carolina's program in the School of Public Health placed 10th.

Among doctoral programs, chemistry tied at 14th. In the specialty areas, analytic placed first, and inorganic came in at ninth.

In commenting on the latest rankings, Chancellor James Moeser said, "At Carolina, we are proud to be widely recognized nationally for excellence in a broad and impressive array of graduate and professional education degree programs. The new assessments by U.S. News and World Report of select professional and science programs are just one more indication of the national strength of these Carolina programs.

"While rankings are not our priority and certainly have their well-documented limitations," Moeser said, "these most recent lists of some graduate and professional programs do reflect the views of deans, senior faculty, program directors and practicing professionals.

"Carolina's excellence will continue to be defined by how well we educate students, conduct successful scientific discovery and serve the needs of the people of North Carolina and beyond. This is a university that makes a powerful difference in the lives of people."

U.S. News does not rank every program and specialty every year. Carolina had several top entries in last year's rankings for programs not listed this year. Business, education, engineering, law and medicine are ranked annually. Other disciplines and specialties are ranked periodically.

The listings can be viewed at the magazine's web site at www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/ rankings/rankindex.htm

BRIDGES program to hold information session on April 15

The "BRIDGES: Academic Leadership for Women" program will hold an information session for prospective BRIDGES participants from Carolina on April 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. at Toy Lounge in Dey Hall. All alumnae and interested female employees are invited to attend to hear more about this program.

The purpose of the BRIDGES program is to cultivate and support women's participation in the leadership of academic institutions. BRIDGES is designed to help women understand and advance as leaders within academia. The program focus includes:

* Understanding academic institutions;

* Enhancing leadership skills;

* Exploring the roles of women as leaders; and

* Refining personal and professional development plans.

Nine classes of women have completed this program, and applications for this year's class are due by May 3. The program cost is $1,450; however, funds may be available to offset the cost to University departments.

More information about the BRIDGES program can be found online at www.fridaycenter.unc.edu/cni/bridges.htm

For more information about BRIDGES or the information session, contact Joanna Carey Smith at 962-6976 or joanna@unc.edu

For more information about scholarship availability, contact Elmira Mangum at 843-6056 or Elmira_Mangum@unc.edu

ArtiFACTS

On display at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, the English-crafted mahogany and oak Person Cabinet dates to the 1770s.

In 1789, Gen. Thomas Person (1733-1800) was a wealthy planter and prominent politician who helped secure the charter for the University of North Carolina. From 1789 to 1795 he served on the first Board of Trustees.

But in the 1760s and 1770s Person was involved with the Regulators -- a group that protested the corruption of local and court officials. Gov. William Tryon suppressed the Regulators, and Person was imprisoned in Hillsborough.

Soldiers sent to his home broke open his desk to search for incriminating evidence in the pigeonholes and secret compartments. Person died a childless widower, and a nephew inherited his furnishings, including his desk. The handsome desk remained in the family until 1939, when Ellen Hale Wilson offered it to the University. Now known as the Person Secretary, this historic piece remained in Person Hall until the late 1970s, when it was moved to Alumni Hall and subsequently to South Building. It was moved to the Hill Alumni Center in 2001.

Editor's note: The following is the first installment of ArtiFACTS, an occasional Gazette feature that will look at campus objects classified as historic property -- what they are, how they got here and why they're significant to the University. The piece is written by Anne Douglas, historic property officer, and aims to help employees feel connected to their environment and to the historical significance of the campus.

Traditional country group to perform

Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group, a four-piece ensemble including former Red Clay Rambler Jim Watson, will perform a free public concert at noon on April 11 at Carolina.

The concert will be on the Education Foundation Terrace of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in the Graham Memorial Building. Sponsors are the center and Carolina's music department and folklore curriculum.

"The Williamses have thrilled folk, bluegrass and country audiences throughout America for more than 25 years," said Randi Davenport, the center's associate director. "Their music reaches deep into American traditions, encompassing the very best in country music."

The Williamses have appeared frequently on A Prairie Home Companion, The American Radio Company, Austin City Limits and The Grand Old Opry. Billboard Magazine credited them with "beautifully crafted songs and sweet, sailing harmonies. ... Every song is memorable."

A reviewer with The New York Times said, "Vocally and instrumentally, the Williamses combine impeccable musical discipline with a bare simplicity and utter lack of pretension."

David McCarty of Bluegrass Unlimited wrote, "This is the real deal, the kind of heartfelt, genuine musical performance that built the foundation of all country and bluegrass music decades ago yet remains timeless and appealing across the ages."

The Williamses' February release, Visions of Love, produced by Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion, includes classic country favorites with the Williamses' vocals, harmonies and accompaniment. Songs by Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Jimmie Rodgers are featured, plus some of the Williamses' own compositions.

Their 1995 album Good News was nominated as the Best Gospel Album of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. "Sugar for Sugar" (1996) stayed on the Americana Top Ten Chart for 13 weeks. "Devil of a Dream" (1998) peaked at No. 7.

"From their 1989 debut with Sugar Hill Records to Visions, their 16th recording, the Williamses' trademark has been outstanding vocal harmonies and tight musicianship," Davenport said. "They are prized for their exploration of deeply rooted American music, combined with their lively wit and memorable melodies."

Employee trustee seats under review

The University Board of Trustees has agreed to study requests by the Employee Forum and Faculty Council to have representatives on the trustees' board.

At a March 28 meeting of the board, Timothy Burnett, board chair, appointed an ad hoc committee made up of trustees Richard "Stick" Williams, Russell "Rusty" Carter and James Hynes to examine the matter.

Burnett said he appointed the committee because this in an issue that is important to everyone concerned and deserves serious thought.

No date was specified for when the committee's recommendations would be ready for consideration by the full board.

Both the Employee Forum and Faculty Council have passed resolutions in support of getting a seat at the trustees' table to give faculty members and staff employees a stronger say on issues that affect their jobs at the University.

University Gazette

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill