Ferris
named Williamson distinguished professor
William
R. Ferris, a widely recognized leader in Southern studies,
African-American music and folklore, has been appointed the
Joel R. Williamson distinguished professor of the study of
the South.
The
appointment recognizes Ferris for "pre-eminent teaching and
research in the study
of
the South," while paying tribute to Williamson, the distinguished
Southern historian and longtime Carolina professor known for
his writings on William Faulkner, Margaret Mitchell and race
relations in the South.
Ferris,
the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities
and a prolific documentarian of blues music and Southern culture,
joined the faculty last summer as professor of history, senior
associate director of the Center for the Study of the American
South and adjunct professor in the curriculum on folklore.
His new appointment to the distinguished professorship was
approved by the Board of Trustees in December.
Williamson,
the Lineberger distinguished professor in the humanities, has
been a member of the history faculty at Carolina since 1960.
He is the author of many acclaimed books, including "William
Faulkner and Southern History" (Oxford University Press, 1993)
and "The Crucible of Race: Black-White Relations in the American
South since Emancipation" (Oxford University Press, 1984).
Both books received the prestigious Mayflower Cup award and
were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in History. "The Crucible
of Race" also won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, the Ralph
Waldo Emerson Award (from Phi Beta Kappa), the Francis Parkman
Prize (from the Society of American Historians) and the Frank
L. and Harriet C. Owsley Award. He is writing a book about
Elvis Presley.
"I
have long admired Joel Williamson's fine work as a scholar
and a teacher," said Ferris. "He embodies the highest standards
of academic excellence, and I will strive to live up to these
standards in my own work. Joel Williamson has pioneered the
study of the American South, and his career will always be
an inspiration for my own."
The
distinguished professorship is a gift of John A. and Paula
R. Powell of Palo Alto, Calif. John Powell is a 1977 Carolina
alumnus. The Williamson professorship is the largest single
endowed chair established by an individual in the College of
Arts and Sciences during the University's Carolina First fund-raising
campaign.
"Our
extraordinarily generous benefactor has given the University
a gift that will make a difference in the lives of our students
for generations to come," said Williamson. "More resources
for researching and writing translate directly into more effective
teaching. Nothing makes for better teaching more than the teacher's
conviction that he or she has discovered a story that the students
have just got to hear."
Ferris
has discovered many compelling stories during his distinguished
career. He has conducted thousands of interviews with musicians
ranging from the famous (B.B. King) to the unrecognized (Parchman
Penitentiary inmates working in the fields).
He
has written or edited 10 books and created 15 documentary films.
He co-edited the massive "Encyclopedia of Southern Culture" (UNC
Press, 1989), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His
other books include: "Mule Trader: Ray Lum's Tales of Horses,
Mules and Men" (1992), "Images of the South: Visits with Eudora
Welty and Walker Evans" (1978), "Mississippi Black Folklore:
A Research Bibliography and Discography" (1971) and "Blues
from the Delta" (1970, 1978, 1988).
Ferris'
films include "Mississippi Blues" (1983), which was featured
at the Cannes Film Festival. A nationally acclaimed expert
on blues music, Ferris has produced numerous sound recordings.
He also has published his own poetry and short stories. A native
of Vicksburg, Miss., Ferris was the founding director of the
Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University
of Mississippi, where he taught for 18 years.
He
has won many prestigious honors, including the Charles Frankel
Prize in the Humanities, the American Library Association's
Dartmouth Medal, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters
Award, and the W.C. Handy Blues Award. In 1991, "Rolling Stone" magazine
named him among the Top Ten Professors in the United States.
He was recently named a Fellow of the American Folklore Society.
At
Carolina, Ferris has been teaching classes on the history of
music in the American South and its impact on the region's
history and culture. His students have explored Native American
songs, Appalachian folk ballads and Afro-American hymns, spirituals
and work chants, and considered a range of forms including
blues, country music, gospel, jazz, rock and rap.
Star
Heels
The
following employees have received recognition as Star Heels
through the month of January:
Academic
Affairs Library
Sonya
Harris
Community
Relations
Tanya
Topolka
Dental
Ecology
Mary
Barnard
Cheryl
Gaffney
Kevin
Moss
Facilities
Services
Edward
Mann
Carly
Perin
Housekeeping
Services
Angelette
Cheek
Law
Library
Ewald
Beltz
Medical
School Administration
Julie
Colvin
Office
of Development
Susan
Anderson
Patti
Fields
Jodi
Fruth
Melissa
Long
Scott
Taylor
Arlene
Weidmann
Kyle
York
Publications
Services
Lauren
Holder
TEACCH
Division
Dana
Adams
Elizabeth
Byars
Patricia
Greene
Pamela
DiLavore
Iris
McKoy
Phyllis
Nixon
Glenna
Osborne
Vickie
Weaver
University
Relations
Betty
Rudo
Editor's
Note: The Star Heels Award Program is sponsored by TIAA-CREF.
Winners each receive a $20 gift certificate. For more information
on the Star Heels program, contact Employee Services at 962-1483.
Decorations
& Distinctions
Matt
Todd
Recycling
coordinator for Facilities Services, Todd was awarded the R.
Randy Rice Service Award from the Association of North Carolina
Housing Officers for his extra effort and support of students
in fall 2002. Todd revitalized "Green Games" in residence halls,
spearheaded "Water Wars" and Styrofoam recycling during the
drought and has organized recycling at special events such
as Fall Fest.
Morris
Weinberger
Vergil
N. Slee distinguished professor of healthcare quality management
in the School of Public Health's department of health policy
and administration, Weinberger received the U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs' 2003 Under Secretary's Award for Outstanding
Achievement in Health Services Research, the department's highest
honor for investigators in that field.
Campus
Award
William
and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education
Jackie
Curasi, Emma McIver
Curasi,
maintenance, and McIver, housekeeping, received the Center
Service Award.
