UNIVERSITY GAZETTE | November 15, 2006 | The University of North Carolina

Sharpen your pencils. It is time once again for the Gazette’s annual December writing assignment: your stories of your favorite holiday memories.

This year we are asking you to tell us about the person in your life who best exemplifies that elusive quality: holiday spirit.

Write a story about a friend, family member or colleague — funny or poignant — and we will share selected anecdotes in our Dec. 13 issue.

Everyone who submits a memory will be included in a drawing for either your choice of two tickets from a selection of Carolina Performing Arts events at Memorial Hall or one of three gift certificates at the Carolina Inn. These include either dinners for two, afternoon teas for two, or brunches for two — all at the Carolina Crossroads Restaurant.

Ken and Martha Howard of Raleigh wanted to honor and surprise Ken’s mother, so they gave this gift to establish the Melvarene J. Howard Adar Scholarship, which will be awarded to a School of Social Work master’s student based on financial need. Ken’s mother was so pleased she gave another $5,000 so the scholarship could begin this fall.

The lawn area near UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute featured a most bewitching sight at lunchtime on Halloween: a long table of cauldrons — well, slow cookers, to be exact — filled with chili and inspiring the study of a line of people, some of whom were in costume.

Welcome to the UNC institute’s annual chili cook off and costume contest, held to benefit the State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC) effort at Carolina. Thirteen different chili dishes, and their chefs, were in competition, with eager chili-lovers paying $3 a ticket for a meal of chili, cornbread and drink — and $1 to vote for their favorite variety.

“It’s a lot of work planning this event, but we had a great committee, with two to three people representing each building,” said Marie Huff, who is leading the institute’s SECC efforts with co-captain Sharon Bardachino. “FPG is a very giving community. It’s a meaningful way for FPG employees to support their communities and neighbors.”

The chili cook off is but one of the several events the institute’s SECC committee has held to help support the SECC — and one of the many examples of how staff and faculty campuswide are supporting the campaign through their creativity, energy and commitment.

“Carolina Together: Supporting a Great Cause” is the theme of the 2006 Carolina campaign. As of Nov. 10, $414,385 had been raised toward the University’s $825,000 goal. The campaign, which began Oct. 3 with a charity fair and captain training, is scheduled to conclude on Nov. 30.

Allison Battle, who is the captain of UNC Athletics’ SECC effort, had worked with coaches and staff to coordinate a silent auction, held Nov. 10. Among the items auctioned were autographed basketballs and a “cheerleader for a day” opportunity.

Battle said the enthusiasm and support shown by Brown Walters, the head cheerleading coach, was typical of what she experienced throughout UNC Athletics: Walters wanted to expand the experience to allow the guest cheerleader to take part in all activities on football game day, including a pep rally and walk from the Old Well through Tar Heel Town. “I think adding those two events to the cheer day would be neat for them,” Walters told Battle.

“Obviously, what our campus community can raise to support more than 850 SECC-supported organizations is our focus in this effort,” said John N. Williams, Carolina’s SECC chair and the School of Dentistry’s dean. “Within that goal, however, has been a tremendous amount of faculty and staff teamwork to make this effort as meaningful and fun as possible for colleagues. ‘Carolina Together’ is a very appropriate theme for this effort, this year and any year.”

To view the most up-to-date SECC campaign numbers and other information, visit www.unc.edu/secc.

Outsider artist Clyde Jones (right) of Bynum autographs a piece of wood in the Pit on Nov. 10 for Skyler Herrick after he carved four “critters” as part of the FPG Student Union’s Celebration of Art. Jones was invited for the Homecoming Weekend event along with all the artists whose work is part of the union’s Henry Copeland Art Collection. A significant number of new pieces was added to the collection over the summer. Jones had lunch with students during his time on campus, and afterwards as he wielded his chainsaw to create a deer and three alligators, the students painted them. Those animals, too, will become part of the Copeland collection and will find homes within the union building.

The Employee Forum on Nov. 1 unanimously passed a resolution asking the administration to reconsider a decision to outsource work in the Dental Services Laboratories.

School of Dentistry Dean John Williams has said the decision to restructure the laboratories reflected the school’s duty to promote oral health statewide through teaching, patient care, research and service. The school has a responsibility to periodically examine its budget to remain fiscally responsive to its mission, he said.

The forum’s resolution “strongly counsels” Chancellor James Moeser and the administration to “reconsider the potential consequences of the decision to repudiate the University outsourcing protocols” endorsed by the late Chancellor Michael Hooker. Those protocols called for any layoffs caused by outsourcing to be made “only in the context of open, inclusive public forums,” the resolution said.

The forum previously had called for a 12-month moratorium on the outsourcing decision in the dentistry school. Moeser responded to that and process issues raised by forum members in an Oct. 18 letter to Chair Ernie Patterson.

Moeser supported the decision by Williams and said the protocols endorsed by Hooker, based on a forum resolution in 1996, came “in the context of a one-time review of specific job functions across the UNC system mandated by General Administration.”

Patterson, speaking at the forum meeting, conceded that the process endorsed by Hooker was not binding, but argued that the University had a moral requirement to honor it.

He said the situation faced by the affected dental employees reflected the question of “how much we are a business and how much are we a family” in how the University treats employees.

Some employees about to lose their jobs spoke at the forum meeting, including John Jordan, a dental technician with 29 years and 10 months of service who said he would miss full retirement by eight weeks.

Since the decision was announced, representatives from the Office of Human Resources have met with individual employees to review their situations, including eligibility for retirement. Under state rules, if an employee retires, accumulated sick leave is credited toward years of service in the retirement formula.

“We have gone from rage to depression,” Jordan said. “When this administration came into the dental school we were all excited we had new blood. What we found was it’s the same old blood. All they think about is counting those pennies.”

Jordan said work already outsourced had to be corrected by University technicians, whose duties include making crowns, retainers and dentures.

Williams said after the meeting that the school had established working relationships with outside laboratories years ago on a standing order basis in response to rapid advances in dental materials and techniques and after considering the quality of their work.

“We value the high quality of work performed by our school’s dental technicians and appreciate their attentiveness to our patients’ needs,” Williams said. “Patient care is a central component of our school’s mission, and we would not enter an agreement with any outside laboratory that did not put a high value on patient care and satisfaction.”

Technicians at the forum said they planned to march today from the dentistry school to South Building. They also circulated a petition at the forum meeting that was critical of Williams’ decision and sought the 12-month moratorium. “His secretive planning to outsource their jobs just to save money is an outrage and a direct threat to the job security of all employees at this University,” the petition said.

At last week’s Faculty Council meeting, former forum chair Tommy Griffin appealed to faculty to support reversal of the outsourcing decision. Griffin, filling in for Patterson, was among leaders invited to speak as part of a tradition early in a new academic year.

In his Oct. 18 letter to Patterson, Moeser said the administration had to balance the personal considerations involving the affected employees with “the perspective that a key professional school with a very public mission to serve patients and educate future dental professionals for North Carolina has taken a hard look at its operation and made a sound managerial move based on long-term budget considerations, academic interests, and consistency with its mission.”

Everyone in the campus community has a responsibility to be accountable to the General Assembly and the taxpayers of North Carolina, the chancellor said.

“We must be excellent stewards of their support,” Moeser wrote. “That is the spirit in which Dean Williams and the school have made this decision.”

Amid the swirl of speculation about the hiring of a new head football coach last week, Chancellor James Moeser talked to faculty leaders about the qualities that coach must have to get the job.

In Nov. 10 remarks to the Faculty Council, Moeser assured faculty that the next head coach would first be a person of integrity and good character, as committed to the values of the University as he is to winning. But the second quality the University seeks is a successful college head coach. In addition to win-loss records, the University would look at the coach’s record graduating his players and building and developing their character.

Last Monday, the University announced its intention to hire Butch Davis, a 32-year coaching veteran and the former head coach of the University of Miami and the Cleveland Browns. Both parties have reached an agreement in principle, but contract terms are pending approval by the University’s Board of Trustees. Contract details will not be released until after trustee approval.

Athletics Director Dick Baddour and Moeser emphasized Davis’ commitment to both the academic and athletic success of his players.

“I was impressed by his knowledge of the University and his vision for the football program,” Baddour said.

Said Moeser, “My own personal interaction with Butch, supported by all of my conversations with faculty and administrators who have known him over the years, confirmed the view that he has the values and commitments we care about most at Carolina.”

During the search, Baddour and Moeser consulted with Faculty Chair Joe Templeton, Faculty Athletic Chair Lissa Broome and Atlantic Coast Conference/National Collegiate Athletic Association Faculty Representative Jack Evans.

In his remarks to the Faculty Council, Moeser said football and men’s basketball are the “fiscal drivers” of the 28-sport athletic program. To attract a coach with proven success, he said, the University must pay the next head coach competitively with the national market.

Moeser said he expected that private funds would be raised to cover the cost of the coach’s salary, but asked the faculty to consider this fund raising in the broader context of the Carolina First Campaign, which is closing in on the $1.9 billion mark and is supporting faculty, students, academic programs and buildings.

“At this University, we intend to compete at the highest level of excellence in everything we do — and that includes athletics.”

Moeser also announced his recommendation on tuition and fee increases to the University Board of Trustees. Moeser’s proposal calls for campus-based tuition increases of $250 for resident undergraduates and $500 for all other students. His recommendation follows the one option favored by most members of the Tuition and Fee Advisory Task Force. Since 2000-2001, campus-based tuition has generated more than $24.6 million for targeted faculty salaries and compensation, including benefits, he said.

Trustees will discuss tuition during their regular meetings this week, but are not scheduled to make any decisions until January.

The University is expanding the Operating System 1 (OS1) cleaning system in Housekeeping Services to most locations campuswide after an evaluation panel’s report assessed pilot projects done last year.

The report found that the OS1 method, also known as team cleaning, was more efficient, professional and safer for employees and building occupants than the current zone cleaning process.

Housekeeping employees have been briefed about the planned changes, which will be phased in over several years. Jim Alty, Facilities Services director, and Bill Burston, Housekeeping director, are communicating about the decision to key campus leaders and customer groups.

“Our plan is to implement OS1 across campus by first converting buildings that we clean on second shift, which is 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.,” said Burston. “That should take six to eight months. After that, we will move to the buildings cleaned on third shift, or 12 to 8 a.m.”

The OS1 Evaluation Committee recently finalized its report, which included the recommendation that “OS1 continue to be expanded across UNC.” The report suggested ways to improve OS1 on campus by enhancing the training offered to housekeeping staff.

The committee compared the two types of housekeeping programs, the zone cleaning system now practiced, and OS1. Under zone cleaning, housekeepers are responsible for all cleaning tasks in a zone of a building. Under OS1, employees work together as a team to clean the entire building and have specialized job tasks that rotate every other week. As part of their conclusions, the committee said that OS1 offered a more professional training program, as well as ergonomic equipment and environmentally friendlier cleaning supplies that were considered safer for housekeepers and building occupants.

OS1 was initially pilot-tested in the Bioinformatics Building during late 2005. A more thorough investigation of the OS1 system was then conducted in Carroll Hall from April through July of 2006.

OS1 cleaning was first presented to housekeeping staff during employee meetings in mid-2005. Later, stakeholders, such as the administration, the Employee Forum, Student Government, Faculty Council and departments, were briefed about the plans and had several opportunities to provide feedback. The Ombuds office twice met with interested housekeepers and shared their feedback anonymously with the Housekeeping Department management team.

The evaluation committee included representatives from the Department of Environment, Health and Safety; Employee Forum; Faculty Council; Student Government; Human Resources; both a housekeeper and housekeeping management, and a public health technical consultant. To see the full report go to: www.fac.unc.edu/Documents/OS1.pdf.

Keith shapes success for minorities in health fields

Editor’s Note This story is one of a series featuring 2006 winners of the C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award. The late Massey of Durham created the awards in 1980 to recognize “unusual, meritorious or superior contributions” by University employees. The award is supported by the Massey-Weatherspoon Fund created by three generations of Massey and Weatherspoon families. Chancellor James Moeser selected the honorees from nominations submitted by the campus. They each received an award citation and $6,000 stipend.

Larry Keith always viewed his work at Carolina, not as a job, but a mission.

Larry Keith, far right, joins with UNC medical students who were members of the Student National Medical Association who participated in the National Association for Minority Medical Educator’s Recruitment Fair held September 2004 in Atlanta. Program coordinator Georgia Njagu is seated in front.

The five titles he held in the School of Medicine — associate director of the Office of Education Development, assistant dean for admissions, director of special programs, director of recruitment and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences- — are more words than could fit on a business card.

People who don’t know Keith might reasonably wonder how one person could find all the hours it would take to attend to all these duties in a single day. But for Keith, the work dovetails, overlaps, weaves and fits his one overriding goal: to increase the number of underrepresented and disadvantaged minorities in the health-care profession.

Keith’s determination in fulfilling that mission helped him to win a C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award last spring, said colleague and friend Pasche Jeffries.

For every student who comes through this office, he makes sure he does anything and everything he can to make them succeed, Jeffries said. He stays late at night. He comes in on Saturdays to tutor students who need help on a particular subject.

“I don’t think you can really describe in words Larry’s absolute dedication and passion to seeing students through school,” Jeffries said. “I don’t even think driven is a strong enough word for it. He just lives and breathes it. He is a father figure to all of these students. He just continuously encourages them.”

And it is that fierce determination, Jeffries said, that Keith has summoned to get through a bout with cancer that forced him to go on medical leave last January. His mission now is to get well and come back.

As a way of paying tribute to his long years of service, Keith’s colleagues, past and present, nominated him for the Massey.

Meanwhile, Keith’s students, past and present, found another way to pay tribute to him. This fall, a deserving medical student received a scholarship for one year of in-state tuition through the Larry D. Keith Loyalty Fund Scholarship. The scholarship is being endowed through private donations from friends, former and current students, faculty and staff, matched by funds from the Medical Alumni Loyalty Fund. The scholarship is now fully funded and will be awarded to a different student each year.

Jeffries, as the associate director of special programs under Keith, gets to visit with Keith several times a month, sometimes when he comes to campus for treatment.

Everyone has been heartened by the progress he has made over the past year, she said. He has gained weight and strength — and has the expectation of returning to work sometimes next year, she said.

“I can’t ever fill his shoes,” Jeffries said. “I’m just doing my best to follow his mission until he comes back. And we have every belief and prayer and hope that he will be back.”

A father figure of his own
That Keith has become a father figure to students, he said, has something to do with having a good role model growing up in Raleigh: his mother.

She raised Keith, along with his brother and two sisters, on her own, Keith said. Working hard in school was not an option she gave her children, but an imperative, and she spent as much time as she could at school to keep her eye on them.

As Keith described her, “My mother served as my father and my mother -— and she was very good at it.”

For Keith, his diligence — and hers – paid off. He earned his bachelor of science in biology from N.C. A&T State University in 1975. He went on to earn two master of science degrees — the first in biology from Virginia State University in 1976, the second in anatomy from Carolina in 1985.

Since 1992, Keith has directed the Medical Education Development Program that offers coursework and support services to prepare minority and disadvantaged students for medical and dental school. The program works so well that 88 percent of participating students who apply to medical school are accepted.

Among them was Adebowale Odulana, a graduate of the University’s medical school now in his in his first year of residency at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems. Odulana graduated from Keith’s program in 1999.

“I must say that I speak from personal experience and also that I speak for a multitude of students who feel the exact same way,” Odulana said of Keith’s influence. “He has been a father figure to us all and encourages us to challenge ourselves. When we fall he is there to pick us up, and when we succeed he is there to congratulate us.”

In 1998, Keith became director of the Research Apprenticeship Program, linking minority or disadvantaged high school students with faculty mentors who help them gain competence in laboratory research and explore biomedical careers. Under his leadership, more students participated in and successfully completed the Research Apprenticeship Program than in the preceding 19 years.

Keith has also been an active member and held offices in the National Association of Minority Medical Educators and in the Minority Affairs Section of the Association of American Medical Colleges. He has been called upon frequently to review grant applications for the Health Careers Opportunity Program and the Centers of Excellence Program of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

Carol P. Tresolini, the University’s associate provost for academic initiatives, said the programs he has developed and his national leadership are only a part of Keith’s contributions.

Keith has been equally vital, she said, in establishing and maintaining a community within the medical school that supports, nurtures and challenges students. “Mr. Keith’s office serves as a home away from home for minority and other medical students, and he is always willing to provide advice, advocate and locate needed services.”

A lasting influence
Beyond these programs, Keith has partnered with organizations in and out of the University to create a pipeline of minority and disadvantaged student recruitment, preparation and retention. With collaborators from Carolina’s schools of medicine and dentistry, the North Carolina Health Careers Access Program, the campus chapter of the Student National Medical Association, undergraduate campuses at Carolina and five historically minority universities in the UNC system, all nine regional Area Health Education Centers, and local public school systems, he created and directs the UNC Health Careers Opportunity Program, a federally funded initiative that now serves as a national model.

He also proposed and received federal funding for a Center of Excellence for Minority Health in the School of Medicine.

William L. Roper, dean of the School of Medicine, said in his nominating letter that Keith’s “creative and unceasing efforts” have produced wonderful results.

“We now rank ninth among all medical schools in the graduation of African-American students and fifth among all schools in the graduation of Native American students. He created and maintains a community within the medical school that gives previously disadvantaged students an equal chance to succeed as health professionals, and his influence will be felt for decades.”

Beyond the numbers, Keith’s influence on each student may be his greatest measure of success.

On coming back
Cancer may have interrupted him, and the treatment he has undergone over the past year has left him feeling sick and weak. What remains as strong as ever, he said, is his determination to return to the work he loves. Keith said he would be tested this month to determine how effective his treatments have been. If things go as he hopes, he may be able to return to work by next spring.

“This is a process that I’m going through, but I’m looking to come back,” Keith said.

As for winning the Massey and having a scholarship fund created in his name, Keith wants people to know how much both honors have meant to him.

“I was just doing my job, but the outpouring of support I’ve gotten since I’ve been sick has made me feel so wonderful,” Keith said.
“It made me feel people noticed what I was doing.”

‘Change a light, Change the world’

Energy Bike

Student Will Sullivan rides the Energy Bike at Campus Sustainability Day Oct. 25 while Terri Buckner, research associate in the Sustainability Office, explains that it takes as much effort to light up one 50-watt incandescent light bulb as it takes to light up four compact fluorescent light bulbs. Attendees at the event pledged to “Change a Light, Change the World” and received complimentary compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to carry out their pledge.

Trustees honor five with William R. Davie Awards
for service

The University Board of Trustees have presented five longtime friends of the University with the prestigious William Richardson Davie Award.

Chancellor James Moeser and the trustees honored the following Davie Award recipients at a Carolina Inn dinner: Alan Dickson of Charlotte; Leonard Herring of North Wilkesboro; Jim Hynes of Charlotte; Allen Morgan of Memphis, Tenn.; and Melvin Watt of Charlotte.

Established by the trustees in 1984, the Davie Award is named for the Revolutionary War hero who is considered the father of the University. It is the highest honor bestowed by the trustees and recognizes extraordinary service to UNC or to society.

A native of Charlotte, Dickson graduated from N.C. State University in 1953 with a degree in textiles. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. In 1968, he and his brother Stuart Dickson formed Ruddick Corp. as a holding company for their father’s textile company, American & Efird. They acquired the grocery store chain Harris Teeter in 1969. The Dickson brothers led Ruddick until 2002, when they retired from day-to-day management.

Many of Dickson’s most important contributions to UNC–Chapel Hill have come through his four decades as a guiding light of the John Motley Morehead Foundation, which oversees Carolina’s Morehead Scholarship Program. Lindsay Morehead, Alan’s late wife, was a daughter of John Lindsay Morehead. Through this close connection with the Morehead family, Dickson learned firsthand the guiding principles and values that John Motley Morehead espoused for the program. He was elected to its board of trustees in 1964 and served as chairman from 1985 to 2006.

Dickson is married to another Davie Award winner, Mary Anne Dickson, class of 1963.

After graduating from UNC in 1948 with a degree in commerce, Herring began his finance career in eastern North Carolina. In 1955, he answered a newspaper ad for a job opening in North Wilkesboro for Lowe’s, a hardware company with six stores. Herring remained with Lowe’s for the next 42 years and served as chief executive officer from 1978 until his retirement in 1997. During his tenure, the company grew to 423 stores, from sales of about $10 million to more than $8 billion.

The Snow Hill native created scholarships to benefit UNC students from both Greene and Wilkes counties. He served on the UNC Board of Visitors, has been a trustee of Pfeiffer College, and recently completed six years of service on the N.C. Zoo Society Board of Directors. His fraternity, Chi Psi, honored him with its Harold S. Falk Distinguished Alumni Award, and the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry inducted him into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1997.

Hynes earned his B.A. in English from UNC in 1962. While a student, he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order and the Student Legislature. After serving for four years in the U.S. Navy, he joined Hynes Inc., a sales and marketing firm founded by his father. From its headquarters in Charlotte, Hynes Inc. represents companies that manufacture health and beauty and general merchandise products. Hynes became the company’s controlling stockholder in 1971 and its chairman in 1986. He retired from the chairmanship in 2000 but remains a member of the board.

Hynes supports a diverse list of priorities at Carolina. He established the Cameron Morrison College Fellows Fund to benefit students from Mecklenburg and Richmond counties. After his daughter Suzanne died in an car accident while traveling in Greece in 1985, he established a memorial endowment in her name in the College of Arts and Sciences. That fund supports faculty, and another named for Suzanne Hynes supports students traveling abroad.

A lifelong resident of Memphis, Tenn., Morgan graduated from UNC in 1965 with a degree in history. Four years later, he founded Morgan Keegan & Co., an investment firm that grew over the next 30 years into a regional powerhouse, with more than 300 offices in 18 states and $600 million in capital. The company was acquired in March 2001 and became a subsidiary of Regions Financial Corp., and Morgan continued in his role as chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Keegan, and joined the Regions Corporate Board of Directors.

Morgan serves on the Carolina First Campaign Steering Committee and co-chairs its Tennessee committee. He has served on the UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation Board and the UNC Investment Fund Board. He created the Morgan Writer-in-Residence Program, which has brought to Chapel Hill such literary giants as Shelby Foote, Annie Dillard, John Grisham, John Edgar Wideman and Joan Didion for readings, seminars with creative writing students and faculty, and public lectures.

Watt, the current chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, just won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he represents North Carolina’s 12th district. A native of Mecklenburg County, Watt was one of the blacks on campus when he enrolled at UNC in 1963. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1967 with a degree in business administration and went on to earn a law degree at Yale University.

A civil rights attorney, Watt began his career in politics as manager of Harvey Gantt’s campaigns for city council, mayor of Charlotte and the U.S. Senate. He served one term in the state Senate, earning the nickname “the conscience of the Senate.”

In 1983, Watt received the Black Alumni Reunion Award (which has since been renamed the Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award in honor of Beech, class of 1952, the first black to receive a degree from Carolina) from the General Alumni Association. He has also been honored with a Distinguished Alumnus Award for his achievements in public service.

First google employee visits

Silverstein

Craig Silverstein, the first employee hired by Google’s founders, spoke Oct. 26 at the Medical Biomolecular Research Building. His lecture was titled, “Organizing the World’s Information: Google’s Vision for the 21st Century.” He created many of the original IT components to support Google’s deployment and growth. Silverstein is currently on leave from Stanford University, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science, with a focus on information retrieval and data mining. Silverstein contributed his expertise in compression algorithms to Google while it was still a research project at Stanford. His other academic pursuits include super-efficient versions of basic data structures such as hash tables as well as efficient clustering of large data sets using Scatter/Gather and latent semantic indexing as it relates to clustering, which he explored at Xerox PARC.

Powell’s ‘Encyclopedia of North Carolina’ presents people’s history

What do North Carolinians — both newcomers and natives — need to know about their state?

Powell

The answer to this — and countless other intriguing questions — can be readily found in the “Encyclopedia of North Carolina” (University of North Carolina Press, November 2006), a monumental achievement that celebrates the significance, vitality and beauty of the Tar Heel State.

Edited by William S. Powell, the long-acknowledged “dean” of North Carolina history, and published by the University of North Carolina Press in association with the UNC Library, the “Encyclopedia of North Carolina” presents the entire history of North Carolina in more than 2,000 entries and 1,360 pages. Never before has the entire history and culture of North Carolina been so thoroughly and skillfully explained in a single comprehensive volume.

“The ‘Encyclopedia of North Carolina’ is the culmination of the splendid scholarly career of William Powell, our state’s preeminent historian,” said William Friday, former president of the UNC System.

Meet the author

William Friday, UNC system president emeritus and host of UNC-TV’s “North Carolina People,” will interview author William Powell about his newly published “Encyclopedia of North Carolina” on Nov. 30.

Friends of the Library is sponsoring the program to celebrate publication of the encyclopedia this month by UNC Press in association with the University Library. The program will begin at 6 p.m. in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room of Wilson Library. The event is free and open to the public.

For program information, call Liza Terll (962-4207) or e-mail or liza_terll@unc.edu.

The authoritative volume represents more than 15 years of Powell’s research and his longstanding desire to produce a broad reference work that will be useful to all North Carolinians and others exploring the rich history of the state.

It is the final installment of a series of three works edited by Powell that includes “The North Carolina Gazetteer” (1968) and the “Dictionary of North Carolina Biography” (six volumes, 1979-96), all published by UNC Press.

Powell has dedicated his life to researching, teaching and writing about North Carolina history. His tireless efforts have uncovered many once-mysterious historical facts, as well as discredited some common misconceptions.

“A lot of people will come along and discover or rediscover the same types of things that I have,” Powell said. “There are some clues there, and they know they just have to analyze those clues — just keep looking, and eventually put two and two together.”

As a professor at UNC, historian for the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, librarian, writer and editor, Powell exemplifies a professional commitment that has gained him the respect of countless students and colleagues.

“Few individuals — if any— have done as much to promote the understanding of and interest in North Carolina through the written word as has [Powell],” said Robert Anthony, curator of the North Carolina Collection at Wilson Library.

However, the encyclopedia is hardly the work of one man. Instead of soliciting a small board of scholars and experts to write the entries, Powell cast a much wider net, inviting individuals throughout the state to submit entries based on their expertise. The finished contributors list has more than 550 names, ranging from college professors and professional writers to amateur historians passionate about their region’s history and culture. All volunteered to contribute without compensation.

“It’s amazing to see how many people have contributed,” said Jay Mazzocchi, associate editor of the encyclopedia. “Bill should get all of the credit, because he was the main reason people were attracted to the project and wanted to help. When Bill called on them, they were very willing because of his incredible body of work and his deep love for the history of North Carolina.”

Contributors to this “people’s encyclopedia” of North Carolina submitted entries on practically every aspect of the state, including its discovery, exploration and settlement; the national and ethnic origins of its people; politics and government; military history; the judiciary; religion; education; recreation and sports; business and industry; fine and folk art; customs and manners; agriculture; language and literature; transportation; geology; the natural environment; and legends and folklore.

The passion each contributor shared for the encyclopedia led to a work unlike any previously attempted in this or any other state.

“At the beginning, Bill didn’t use any real model. He was trying to do something completely new,” Mazzocchi said. “The final form of the encyclopedia aptly reflects Bill’s vision, as well as the complexity of the state and its people.”

The authors of each article are identified, and readers will recognize many celebrated chroniclers of the state’s culture and history. For example, Thomas Parramore writes about “Aviation” and the “Gatling Gun.” Bland Simpson covers “Ghosts” and the “Great Dismal Swamp.” And Catherine Bishir surveys “Architecture.”

Bibliographic references follow most of the entries and encourage further research and exploration.

The encyclopedia is a browser’s delight. One reader might pick up the encyclopedia hoping to learn more about the Blue Ridge Parkway and additionally discover the impact basketball had on North Carolina’s civil rights movement. Another might be searching for information about the Revolutionary War and be drawn in by the article on the famous Hollerin’ Contest in Spivey’s Corner.

The authoritative compendium is abundantly illustrated with more than 400 photographs and maps. Illustrations editor Jerry Cotten, who was for many years the photographic services librarian at UNC, managed the selection process and included a number of never-before-published images.

In addition to assisting with publication, the University Library provided important financial support for the encyclopedia and housed its office during the project’s development.

Through the work of Powell and hundreds of contributors, the “Encyclopedia of North Carolina” now stands as a reference work for all North Carolinians -- young or old, recent transplants or long-time residents -- to consult and enjoy for years to come.

“The encyclopedia belongs in every home and every library,” Friday said. “It’s that important.”

Tar Heel Certificate Program targets research administrators

Sally Binkowski had been working at her research administration job for years, with virtually nothing in the way of on-the-job training. “Once in a while there would be a little presentation on, for example, training grants. But there was nothing comprehensive available,” says Binkowski, administrator at the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease. “Folks like me learned by hit or miss.”

Binkowski

But in 2004, the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) came up with an idea that has since blossomed into a popular training destination: the Tar Heel Certificate Program in Research Administration. Binkowski was on board as soon as she heard about it. And she wasn’t alone.

“With the first class, we wanted to take 30 people, but we ended up with 80 because so many people were interested,” said Phyllis Daugherty, director of training and development in OSR, who helped start the program. People like it, Daugherty said, because they get information to do their jobs—but also because they can network with their colleagues. “They get to know each other over time,” she said.

The program is a series of half-day workshops, held once a month, on topics such as regulatory issues, financial management, and the history and current role of research administrators. To participate, employees must have at least two years experience in research administration (“so they know the lingo,” Daugherty said). The nomination process involves filling out an application and getting a recommendation letter from a dean, director, or department head.

“We started this program because there was a demand for it, and the response has been even stronger than we expected,” said Jim Peterson, associate vice chancellor for research and director of OSR. “Our staff in research at Carolina is motivated to do a good job. Having better-trained research administrators will help the individuals themselves, OSR, and all of Carolina.”

Binkowski said the program had three major strengths that helped her at work. First, she says, it was comprehensive — tying together different topics that overlap, rather than offering them as separate, pick-and-choose subjects. Second, there was a real effort to encourage class participation, she says. “I learned more on some topics from the other participants than I could have at a dozen lectures.” But the most important feature to Binkowski was that the program is offered here at UNC. “No one had to travel or find funding to take part in it. On the contrary, it was our own institution recognizing the needs of employees and responding in a way that benefited both the participants and the institution.”

Provided by Research and Economic
Development
Editor: Neil Caudle
Writer: Colie Hoffman

Vietnamese dance troupe to perform at Memorial Hall Nov. 16-17

Carolina Performing Arts will present the U.S. premiere of “Drought and Rain Vol. 2,” a contemporary dance reflection on the Vietnam War, on Nov. 16 and 17.

Company Ea Sola will perform the piece at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 and at 8 p.m. Nov. 17 in Memorial Hall’s Beasley-Curtis Auditorium. The work is performed by 12 dancers from the National Ballet of Vietnam, with one composer, five traditional Vietnamese musicians playing contemporary music, a digital light display and video images.

The dates are the only U.S. performances by Company Ea Sola scheduled this year. “Drought and Rain Vol. 2” has premiered in Germany, Singapore and Vietnam.

Grounded in the traditional culture, music, dance and history of Vietnam, “Drought and Rain Vol. 2” presents the war as seen through the eyes of the country’s next generation.

“In this choreography, I took up the theme of the memory of war and considered it from the viewpoint of Vietnam,” said Ea Sola (pronounced “(EH-ah SO-la”), a Vietnam native who fled to Paris during the war. “It was a reflection on the world powers that have excluded and occulted millions of individuals. This choreography put the anonymous in the foreground.”

Sola returned to Vietnam in 1989 and researched the country’s culture for five years. Her impressions from that research eventually became the first “Drought and Rain,” her 1995 piece that featured women farm workers onstage in the place of professional dancers.

Tickets for “Drought and Rain Vol. 2,” $24-$50, are available online at www.carolinaperformingarts.org, by calling 843-3333 or from the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.