1. education
2. graduate school
3. college

university
Vol. 40, No. 9
gazette.unc.edu
May 13, 2015
Ca ro l i n a F acu l ty an d S taff N e w s
Left, soon-to-be graduates throw their caps for a
picture on the steps of South Building.
Below, Jason Kilar takes a selfie from the podium
before delivering his address at Spring Commencement.
Hats off to the
class of 2015
W
elcome to the Spring 2015
Commencement issue of
the University Gazette.
Today’s paper is devoted to graduation,
cover to cover. The story of the event
itself is told in words and photos, from
posing at the Old Well to attending the
Chancellor’s reception, on pages 6 and
7. That’s also where you’ll find out more
about Commencement speaker, alum
and Hulu founder Jason Kilar.
On pages 10 and 11, you’ll meet six of
this year’s graduates, each with a special
story, from first-generation college students to a pediatrician who got his bachelor’s degree 48 years after he first came to
Carolina. On page 5, read about another
graduate with a particularly interesting
journey that took her to both graduation
and citizenship in the same year.
And on page 12, we tell the story of
the very special Commencement of
1911, when Confederate veterans were
invited back to Carolina 46 years after
the war to receive the degrees they
never got because they left college to
become soldiers. You’ll find more photos online at gazette.unc.edu, as well as
short bios of the recipients of this year’s
honorary degrees.
Carolina, GSK partner to accelerate search for HIV cure
Ever since the first HIV/AIDS patient was
admitted into UNC Hospitals in 1981, the
Carolina has been at the forefront of research
working to eradicate the disease and prevent
its transmission.
May 11, the University made another step
forward in its efforts.
During a brief ceremony at Marsico Hall,
the University officially announced the formation of a jointly owned company with GlaxoSmithKline that will be dedicated to finding
a cure for HIV/AIDS. In a first-of-its-kind
public-private partnership, the two organizations will combine resources to launch the
HIV Cure center and Qura Therapeutics.
“The big idea of this venture is clear: curing
HIV/AIDS,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “It
will require a fundamental shift in paradigm,
a shift that will integrate both new research
approaches and durable alliances of many
partners in order to sustain the effort required
for all time.”
GSK, a research-based pharmaceutical and
healthcare company, will invest $4 million into
the partnership each year during the five-year
research agreement. Carolina will provide more
than 19,000 square feet of laboratory space on
its medical campus to house the HIV Cure center and Qura. The University will also fund the
customization of the space, including equipment and infrastructure costs. Lab renovations
are expected to be finished in the fall, allowing
GSK researchers to work on-campus with their
Carolina partners.
With Carolina consistently ranked in the
top 10 AIDS specialty programs by U.S.
News & World Report, Carolina scientists
are already working toward an HIV cure;
12 cure-related clinical studies have been
done at Carolina over the last five years. But
the partnership with GSK will give scientists
access to more research and development
capabilities to test for a cure.
The goal of the partnership is to allow the
world’s best scientists to make faster progress
than they would alone.
See partnership page 4
2 U n ive rsity Gaze t t e
on th e we b
Where’s the bicycle pump?
go.unc.edu/w5E2W
Time to fill up those tires and dig up your helmet – May
is National Bike Month. Established in 1956, National
Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many benefits
of bicycling – and encourage more folks to give biking
a try. We are already in the middle of National Bike to
Work Week, so time to get pedaling.
Why no white?
Improve your mental hygiene with a visit to the Mental Floss website, where you’ll find amazing facts,
big questions, quizzes and lists. The folks there even
know why we aren’t supposed to wear white before
Memorial Day.
go.unc.edu/o3C9W
What’s a shoulder month?
Commencement is over – time to pack your bags!
Did you know that May is one of the best months to
travel? That’s because it’s a shoulder month (between
seasonal vacation peaks). If you need ideas for where
to go, here’s a guide that specializes by month.
go.unc.edu/s9DRk
university
Interim Editor
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[email protected]
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Gazette and to edit submissions for consistency with
Gazette style, tone and content.
PCIED calls for more talk, more action
to improve diversity at Carolina
It’s great to talk about diversity, but that talk
should lead to action. That’s why the Provost
Committee on Inclusive Excellence and Diversity
(PCIED) describes what they do as work “with an
emphasis on recommendations for action.”
The 48-member committee of faculty, staff
and students convened in fall 2014 as a followup to the national “Making Excellence Inclusive”
initiative introduced by the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U).
The notion of “inclusive excellence” refocuses
attention on what success in diversity looks like.
It isn’t enough to increase the number of underrepresented students in college, for example.
The institution also has to do the work that
will help these students navigate what might be
foreign territory and reach their goals.
Most important, creating a diversity plan
should be the first step in the process, not the
last, said Daryl Smith, the national diversity
expert who came to campus April 14 for the
Diversity in Higher Education seminar.
Smith, senior research fellow and professor emerita of education and psychology at
Claremont Graduate University, delivered
the keynote address. More than 120 people
attended the seminar, sponsored by Diversity
and Multicultural Affairs.
“People need to feel that the efforts they put
into this work are central to the mission, central
to excellence, and that they matter. And it has to
matter to the leadership,” Smith said.
Over the past academic year, the provost committee built a framework for discussion using
Smith’s book “Diversity’s Promise for Higher
Education: Making It Work.”
Led by Chair Taffye Benson Clayton, associate vice chancellor and chief diversity officer,
committee members set to work to provide Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor James W.
Dean Jr. with recommendations and strategies
to transform the institution.
“The goal of this committee is to recognize and investigate diversity and inclusion at
the institution level – examining where we’re
doing well, where we could enhance our efforts
See Diversity page 4
‘Food for All’ picked for 2015–17 academic theme
Carolina will come together at a common table when it examines food and food studies as its 2015–17 university-wide academic
theme. “Food for All: Local and Global Perspectives,” which builds
on Carolina’s 2012–15 “Water in Our World” focus on global water
issues, will challenge all areas of the University to examine wideranging topics from food cultures and nutrition, food security, world
hunger, agricultural economics, resource management, sustainable
development, climate change and international trade.
Chancellor Carol L. Folt gave a preview of the theme at a special session of the “What’s the Big Idea?” lecture series at the Friday Center on
April 30.
“‘Food for All’ is the perfect successor to the ‘Water in Our World’
theme,” said Folt. “With alliances like UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences,
the Global Research Institute and the UNC Nutrition Research Institute,
Carolina can leverage its world-class resources to guide our focus on food
over the next two years. Through this initiative, we can bring our community together to address this global issue that plays a critical role across
many facets of our society – culture, health and the economy.”
Carolina’s Global Research Institute proposed the food theme,
which coincides with its own individual exploration of the topic, as the
third in its continuing series established in 2009. With each new theme,
the institute recruits a group of expert fellows to campus, providing faculty, students and staff the opportunity to creatively engage with some
of the world’s leading scholars on the topic.
“We chose this theme, in part, because of the important role that food
has played in our local community and region,” said Peter Coclanis,
director of the Global Research Institute.
“Food is very much at the heart of cultures worldwide,” said Coclanis.
“The agrarian history of the South makes us no exception. As a region,
we also have important political, economic, cultural, health and social
intersections with food.”
Carolina is an international leader in food cultures and nutrition, and
the Chapel Hill community, the Research Triangle and other area universities have also long embraced food research and studies.
The UNC Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis studies ways to
promote healthy lifestyles and prevent, treat and cure diet and lifestylerelated diseases and disorders. The Department of American Studies’
folklore program, the Center for the Study of the American South’s
“Southern Cultures” journal, the UNC Center for Health Promotion
and Disease Prevention, the Gillings School of Global Public Health,
the School of Medicine and the Carolina Population Center are also
world-renowned for their work on food studies, diet and nutrition.
The food theme’s steering committee will be led by co-chairs Alice
Ammerman and Marcie Cohen Ferris.
Ammerman is a professor in the Department of Nutrition in the
Gillings School of Global Public Health and director of the Center
for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Her current research
focuses on nutrition programs and policies associated with obesity
and chronic disease prevention, sustainable agriculture as it relates
to improved nutrition, and social entrepreneurship as a sustainable
approach to addressing public health concerns.
Ferris, a professor in the Department of American Studies and
coordinator for the department’s Southern Studies Program, has
taught and conducted research on both food in American culture and
the foodways and material culture of the American South. This work
is reflected in her current book, “The Edible South: The Power of
Food and the Making of an American Region” (UNC Press, 2014).
Ferris is a past president of the board of directors of the Southern
Foodways Alliance.
“There is no more important topic in the world than food,” said Ferris. “In food lies a range of dynamics like family, class struggle, ecological exploitation, connection to place, creativity and flavor that have long
defined the American South. Through ‘Food for All,’ we are able to
extend our analysis beyond the Carolina family to the world.”
May 13, 2 015 3
Carolina, in consultation with the family of Dean E.
Smith, has launched a fundraising campaign for student
assistance to honor the life and legacy of the legendary
men’s basketball coach, who died Feb. 7.
The campaign will raise money for the Dean E. Smith
Opening Doors Fund, which will make college a reality for
outstanding undergraduates from lower-income families
and enable professionals in education and social work to
pursue advanced degrees.
“The world knew Coach Smith as a great basketball coach,
but the Carolina family knew him as a great teacher and
humanitarian. His care for his players was for life,” Chancellor Carol L. Folt said. “He was a force for good and a remarkable pioneer, promoting equality, civil rights and respect for
all. This fund will be a fitting tribute, opening doors to opportunity for many just as he did.”
Smith was the head coach of the Tar Heels from 1961
to 1997, retiring as the winningest coach in college basketball. He led the Tar Heels to national championships
in 1982 and 1993, to 13 ACC Tournament titles, 11 Final
Fours, and an NIT championship, and directed the United
States Olympic Team to a gold medal at the 1976 Summer
Games. More than 95 percent of his lettermen graduated.
“Coach Smith taught us that excellence could be
achieved through hard work, dedication and thorough
Forum focuses
on budget and
ConnectCarolina
understanding,” said Eric Montross, a two-time All-American at Carolina who starred on Smith’s 1993 NCAA title
team. “Coach also believed in empowering motivated
individuals by teaching them how to use their own tools
to achieve their goals. This funding endeavor will give the
priceless gift of opportunity through higher education.”
The campaign to support the fund will solicit endowment gifts to generate revenue in perpetuity. Based on current attendance costs, the fund will provide annual $5,000
need-based scholarships for undergraduate students to help
them cover college expenses; graduate awards will be up to
$30,000 annually for a full scholarship.
Officials hope to award the first scholarships to students
entering Carolina in the fall.
The University will match all gifts dollar for dollar with
non-state funds that the chancellor can use at her discretion
to meet a campus priority, further leveraging the impact of
donor contributions.
The matching dollars will support Dean E. Smith Scholars at the undergraduate level because of this population’s
broad presence on campus.
People can make an online gift to the fund at giving.unc.
edu/opening-doors. For more information, contact the
UNC Office of University Development at openingdoors@
unc.edu
or (919) 962-4385.
It’s not often that an Employee Forum
meeting is interrupted by breaking news,
especially good news.
But Vice Chancellor for Finance and
Administration Matt Fajack was so happy
to receive the latest word on the state’s
projected revenue that he popped up at the
podium again after his budget update.
Reading from his smartphone, Fajack
said that the latest budget projection was
an “estimated revenue surplus of $400
million for the state.”
Before receiving word of the budget
surplus, Fajack explained to employees
his plans to increase efficiency to cover an
anticipated budget cut of 2 percent based on
the earlier prediction of a $90 million
budget shortfall.
The May 6 meeting at Wilson Library
was the Spring Community Forum, held
annually to give University employees the
chance to ask questions directly to administrators – even the chancellor.
Chancellor Carol L. Folt led a lineup
of speakers that included Fajack, Vice
Chancellor for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Chris
Kielt and Susan Colby, chair of the UNC
Staff Assembly.
Folt told the employee audience that
this year’s Commencement speaker, Hulu
founder Jason Kilar, is “very emblematic” of
contributed
Carolina launches fundraising campaign
to honor life and legacy of Dean Smith
Eric Montross and other Tar Heels looked to Dean Smith for leadership.
what Carolina does and is itself. “One year
after he graduated, he was already in a job
that didn’t exist before he graduated. He
created that job,” she said. “That’s exactly
what our staff does. Almost everyone I
talked to was in a department that did not
exist most likely when they began here.”
Folt fielded questions from the audience about raises and budgets.
An employee from the School of Government asked if the University’s budget
allocation process might be changed to
one based on the number of undergraduate students in a school or department.
Folt responded that, while the University
may have a new budget model, it won’t be
a “one-size fits all” because much of Carolina’s money and reputation is based on
research.
The presentation expected to generate the most questions came last on the
agenda. A ConnectCarolina team came to
the forum in anticipation of staff questions
about its implementation.
Kielt acknowledged that the implementation has not been a smooth one, but
expected that many of the issues would
be resolved in the next six months. The
biggest challenge of the switch is that the
legacy systems being replaced were customized just for Carolina.
“We didn’t just swap out software,” he
said. If the systems had been standard purchased products, they would have been
automatically updated over the years.
Instead, someone at Carolina had to figure
out when and how to update the customized system.
“The people who worked with these systems are retiring or moving on,” Kielt said.
The fact that the University is “radically
decentralized” also contributes to the problems and communications about them.
“We know it’s not as good as it can be,”
he said. “When will things be back to normal? This is my third time, and I’d say we
have a ways to go in this journey.”
Questions from the audience were very
specific to individual offices and systems.
The team took notes about these and
asked anyone else with IT questions to
leave an index card about the problem.
Better yet, employees should use the campus wide Help Desk to report problems so
that they can be documented, allowing the
team to see if different offices are dealing
with similar issues.
“For us to make it easier for you to use
these systems, we have to know what the
problems are,” Kielt said. “We are all
focused each and every day to make
this better.
– Susan Hudson, Gazette
4 U n ive rsity Gaze t t e
Partnership from page 1
– Brandon Bieltz, Office of Communications and Public Affairs
Mel anie Busbee
“We believe partnership is the way to solve the problems of the
world, the country and of the state,” said North Carolina Governor
Pat McCrory. “If we don’t work together and combine all the different brains, we will not solve the problems that are so complex in
today’s world.”
Based in the Genetic Medicine Building, the HIV cure center will
focus exclusively on finding a cure for HIV/AIDS and will serve as
a catalyst for additional partners and public funding that will help
eradicate the disease while also attracting talented researchers from
around the world.
“This is not an easy challenge by any stretch,” said Sir Andrew
Witty, CEO of GSK. “This is going to take years, it may take generations for scientists to achieve this. … This is a very difficult
mission that we’re setting off to try and achieve. I am incredibly
encouraged.”
Led by 50 scientists including, at least five full-time employees of
GSK’s HIV performance unit, the HIV Cure center will use a new
scientific approach called “shock and kill.” The approach makes
the hidden HIV virus visible to the immune system and allows the
patient’s immune system to clear the virus.
“The road ahead of us will be long and the challenges are many,”
said Zhi Hong, head of GSK’s infectious diseases therapy area unit.
“For every 10 steps forward, we will probably have some steps back
– perhaps nine steps back – but we must focus on that positive
momentum and that will bring us closer to our final goal that is to
cure all patients with HIV.”
Qura Therapeutics will handle the business side of the partnership, including intellectual property, commercialization, manufacturing and governance. Carolina and GSK will evenly split royalties
from any commercial product that results from Qura.
“This partnership marries the absolute best of what we do at a
America’s leading public universities – world-class research and a
deep, deep commitment to serving the public with the best of the
private sector,” Folt said.
GSK’s Hong, and Matt Fajack, Vice Chancellor for Finance and
Administration, will lead the organization as the sole members of
the board of directors for Qura Therapeutics. Carolina’s David
Margolis, professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology,
and epidemiology, will serve as scientific director of the HIV Cure
center and will have decision-making authority on the daily planning and resources utilization within the center, within the bounds
of the overall business plan approved by the Standing Review Board
on behalf of Qura Therapeutics and the Qura Therapeutics Board.
GSK and the University entered into a five-year partnership, but
Witty anticipates several extensions as the teams work to find a
cure. The organization predicts it will take at least 15 to 20 years to
produce an applicable HIV cure.
“Tomorrow when we get to work, the mountain is pretty steep,”
Margolis said. “It’s time to get to work.”
GSK CEO Sir Andrew Sitty speaks at the event in which the Carolina and GSK announced the creation of the dedicated HIV Cure center and
a jointly owned new company that will focus on discovering a cure for HIV/AIDS. Also on stage are, from left, Gov. Pat McCrory, Zhi Hong,
Chancellor Carol L. Folt and David Margolis.
Diversity from page 2
and where are our missed opportunities and
needs,” Dean said.
The committee presented their results at
the spring seminar, following Smith’s speech.
There they announced the launch of the
Inclusive Excellence at Carolina website,
inclusive.unc.edu, and presented “Five Big
Ideas” (inclusive.unc.edu/bigideas/aboutthe-big-five-ideas) for improving inclusion
and diversity at Carolina.
The committee made a dozen preliminary
recommendations for action, grouped in these
five areas:
communications and marketing;
inter- and intra-group dialogue;
education;
institutional leadership; and
strategic planning.
“Today is a major step in adding momentum to the diversity work that is already
underway,” Clayton said. “While this is a peak
moment for PCIED, the work of this committee will continue.”
The committee’s recommendations stress
the need to weave diversity and inclusion into
the fabric of the University. Carolina should
have an institution-wide inclusive excellence
plan, and each unit should have a diversity
liaison to help implement the plan at all
levels, the committee reported.
They also advised improving communication
about Carolina’s commitment and encouraging senior leaders to champion the cause. Other
recommendations included taking an audit of
existing programs and creating a certificate program to improve education about diversity.
And, yes, the recommendations for action
also include suggestions to keep talking – in
focus groups, immersion opportunities and
ongoing dialogues – and to share diversity
resources campus wide.
In fact, one of the first communications recommendations is already underway with the
March 17 launch of Carolina Conversations,
a coordinated effort to ensure that Carolina
Carolina/GSK
partnership
at a glance
The partnership is the first of its kind. It is
a public-private partnership that will create the HIV Cure center that will focus on
developing a cure for HIV. A new company called Qura Therapeutics will handle the business side of the partnership
and will focus on the commercialization,
manufacturing and governance. There
will be a 50–50 split between GSK and
Carolina, once any commercial product is
produced from Qura.
GSK and Carolina will use an approach
called “shock and kill,” which basically
looks to make the hidden virus visible
to the immune system and augment the
patient’s immune system to clear out HIV.
It targets the actual host, not the virus.
GSK is investing $4 million a year over
for the next five years to fund the HIV
Cure Center, and will also send a small
group of researchers to work with Carolina scientists. Carolina will supply lab
space on its medical campus for the HIV
Cure center to use.
Zhi Hong, head of GSK’s infectious diseases therapy area unit, and Matt Fajack,
Carolina Vice Chancellor for Finance and
Administration will lead the organization
as the sole members of the board of directors for Qura Therapeutics. Carolina’s
David Margolis, professor of medicine,
microbiology and immunology, and epidemiology, will serve as scientific director
of the HIV Cure center and will have decision-making authority on the daily planning and resources utilization within the
center, within the bounds of the overall
business plan approved by the Standing
Review Board on behalf of Qura Therapeutics and the Qura Therapeutics Board.
stands always as a place that is inclusive and
welcoming for all. The initiative, inspired by
the rising level of national and local discourse
surrounding events and issues of equity and
inclusion, features a website, carolinaconversations.unc.edu, large-scale gatherings and more
intimate ones as well as funding to help other
groups connect to improve diversity.
“I do believe that these recommendations
offer great potential for embedding an institutional culture of inclusion and diversity here at
the University and also advancing our aspirations of excellence in our teaching, research
and service missions,” Dean said.
– Susan Hudson, Gazette
May 13, 2 015 5
Melendez’ message:
‘America needs us’
Immigrants become citizens every Friday at
the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
office in Durham. But only once a year does
the agency host a naturalization ceremony
at Carolina.
On the afternoon of Friday, May 8, 38
candidates became new citizens at only the
second naturalization ceremony ever held in
the Mandela Auditorium of the Global Education Center.
Executive Vice Provost and Chief International Officer Ron Strauss presided over the ceremony and told the touching story of his own
immigrant roots. He was born in America, but
both his mother and father came here by boat
as refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
“The United States would not be the nation
it is without its immigrants,” Strauss told the
candidates sitting in the front three rows of the
auditorium. Some of the future citizens had
white hair and others had wiggly little children.
Many held miniature American flags. All were
dressed in their best clothes.
Strauss read the list of countries – 24 in all,
alphabetically from Austria to South Korea –
that the candidates represented, asking them to
stand when their native nation was called. Most
countries had only one or two candidates, but
Mexico had seven and India had four.
“All of you have a story and a path that led
you here,” Strauss said. “These rich individual
threads form the fabric of our nation’s story.”
Recently naturalized citizen Daira Belen
Melendez, who is also a senior graduating
from Carolina, was the featured speaker at the
ceremony. (See related story below.)
“Two months ago, I found myself in the
exact position you all are in – emotional, a
little nervous and absolutely excited about
becoming a citizen of the United States of
America,” she told the candidates.
She related the story of her own family’s
journey to Reno, Nevada, from northern
Chile when she was 9 years old, and her path
to a college degree and citizenship here in
North Carolina.
“Citizenship, like this great university, opens
the door to so many new opportunities. It provides us with the chance to get hired by the
government, serve our country, participate in
elections and present the nation in the best
light possible,” Melendez said. “America needs
us. It needs our bright ideas, our active citizenship and our cultural contribution.”
After her speech came the legal requirement
of the ceremony: the administration of the
oath of allegiance by Lisa Wohlrab, acting field
office director for the immigration service.
Candidates take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at the FedEx Global Education Center on campus on May 8.
The candidates stood, raised their right hands
and recited the sometimes flowery oath that
requires them to, among other things, “abjure
all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince
[or] potentate.”
The new citizens then came forward to
receive their certificates, one by one as their
names were called by Elizabeth Barnum,
director of International Student and Scholar
Services. Each had his or her picture snapped
holding the certificate in front of the American and North Carolina flags, by the official
photographer as well as proud friends and
family using smartphones.
One new citizen even captured on his own
phone the announcement of his name – a
rather long and complicated one – that drew
chuckles from the audience.
The citizens were then congratulated again,
this time by President Barack Obama in a prerecorded video. “In America,” he assured
them, “no dream is impossible.”
– Susan Hudson, Gazette
Naturalized citizen, first in her family, shares her story
M
citizen just two months ago. “I get to celebrate two things now.”
The senior spoke about her experience Friday (May 8) at a
naturalization ceremony held on campus, where 38 candidates
took the oath of allegiance and received their certificates. (See
related story above.)
Melendez’s family came to America when she was 9, moving from Iquique in north Chile to Reno,
Nevada. They wanted the American
dream: good jobs for themselves and a college education for their four children.
Her mother cleans houses and her
father works for a textile company. Neither has a college education. Melendez
said she knew education would be the
key to her success. She excelled in school,
thanks to teachers who worked with her
after class to improve her English and
other subjects.
When it was time for college, she
applied to several in the West, but only
one on the East Coast – Carolina. She
had never been to Chapel Hill, but her
best friends’ parents both were Tar Heels
and encouraged her to go. She arrived in
2011, having only seen campus online
before. (Now she gives tours of the
Carolina student and naturalized U.S. citizen Daira Belen Melendez addresses
candidates at a naturalization ceremony on campus on May 8.
campus to prospective students as an
ost seniors only hope to collect one piece of paper
this time of year. But Daira Belen Melendez was
determined to get two: her diploma and her certificate of U.S. citizenship.
“One of my goals was to get my citizenship before I graduated,” said Melendez, a Chilean immigrant who became a U.S.
Admissions Ambassador.)
The humidity surprised her, and so did the Southern hospitality. “People were always holding doors open for me,” she said.
Undecided on a major her first year, Melendez was drawn
to the sciences, especially a challenging class on genetics. She
wound up majoring in biology and environmental studies, with
a focus on health and environment. A highlight of her studies was a semester she spent abroad in the Galapagos Islands,
where she did field work and collected samples.
“That’s when I realized that’s what I wanted to do,” Melendez said. Having been a research assistant in the Gillings School
of Global Public Health, she wants to continue to do research
in North Carolina, preferably in microbiology.
At the same time she was getting her degree, she pursued her
other goal of citizenship – filling out forms, gathering documents, taking a test, paying fees, passing a background check
and, finally, taking the oath. Melendez may not have been the
first to be born in her family, but she is the first to become a
U.S. citizen.
After celebrating her citizenship with her roommate, who
had a birthday the same day, Melendez quickly went for her
third important document: a U.S. passport. That’s because she
plans to return to Galapagos for more environmental studies.
“This will be my first time going as an American,” she said. “I
love being a citizen of the United States.”
– Susan Hudson, Gazette
6 U n ive rsity Gaze t t e
‘Pursue your own path’
F
inal tests have been taken and last papers have been handed in,
but on a rainy Sunday morning at Kenan Stadium the Class of
2015 was given one more assignment: take risks and make your
own path.
“Doing what you love – pursuing your own path – is often the most
unsettling option at the outset,” said Jason Kilar, a media and entertainment innovator. “The paths that others have traveled before you, those are
the paths that have greater visibility. They appear lower risk. They play better in conversations with the aunts, uncles and neighbors. But don’t fall for
it. You are better than that and have the strength to go your own way.”
Kilar, the co-founder and CEO of Vessel and founding CEO of Hulu,
delivered the Commencement address as Carolina celebrated the graduation of more than 6,000 students May 10.
The ceremony was presided over by Chancellor Carol L. Folt and drew
approximately 29,000 of the graduates’ families and friends. University leaders in attendance included UNC President Tom Ross, Board of Governors
member Edwin McMahan, Board of Trustees Chair W. Lowry Caudill and
General Alumni Association Board of Directors Chair Vaughan Bryson.
“Graduates, just look around you and take in this very special moment
– it’s something that you’ve been working for four years,” Folt said.
“Now you’re here, and you’re sharing this with your friends, with your
families and with your supporters. I know everyone in this stadium is just
as proud of your accomplishments as are all members of the Carolina
family, faculty and staff who have helped you reach this milestone.
“… Class of 2015, you truly are the finest testament to the future of this
great university, to this great state, to this nation and the world that I can
possibly imagine.”
The degrees of more than 6,000 Carolina students were conferred during the roughly two-hour ceremony. They included 3,769 with bachelor’s,
1,419 with master’s, 217 with doctoral and 648 with professional degrees
from the schools of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing and pharmacy.
“Your minds are sharp and filled with ideas; you can write, speak and
think with the best of them; you are prepared to engage globally and
locally, and are truly ready to tackle all of the many adventures, opportunities and challenges life will bring to you,” Ross said. “I am hopeful and
confident that each of you will be successful – some of you as doctors
or lawyers, some as teachers or scholars, some as entrepreneurs, some
working in non-profits, some as CEOs and some making life-changing or
life-saving discoveries.”
Secretary of the Faculty Joseph S. Ferrell also awarded honorary
degrees to six people: Catarina de Albuquerque, international human
rights lawyer and advocate; Peter Ware Higgs, professor of physics and
astronomy emeritus at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland; Mary
Elizabeth Junck, chief executive officer and chair of Lee Enterprises, a
major newspaper corporation, currently chair of the board of the Associated Press; R. Charles Loudermilk Sr., entrepreneur, philanthropist, business and community leader; Charles W. Millard III, an art history scholar,
writer and curator who served as director of the Ackland Art Museum
from 1986 to 1993; and Wyndham Gay Robertson, Fortune magazine’s
first female assistant managing editor.
Speaking about his own experiences after graduating from Carolina in
1993, Kilar encouraged graduates to find their passion and pursue it. But
by doing so, he said, they must be prepared to face personal and professional adversity.
“My wish is that you make it the most epic of adventures possible,” he
said. “Dream big. Take the risk. Fail. Pick yourself back up again. And
always, always remember this: There is no adversity capable of stopping
you once the choice to persevere is made.”
In creating their own paths, Kilar urged the graduates to not fear doing
what is new and to pursue their ideas “relentlessly.”
“The typical human response in the face of the new is to ignore, mock
or dismiss it. New is scary. New is the unknown. Most everyone does not
believe that the new will work, until it does.”
– Brandon Bieltz, Office of Communications and Public Affairs
Nearly 3,800 undergraduates
– who spent their time at Carolina studying 58 different majors
– received their degrees May 10
at Kenan Stadium.
They studied everything from
archaeology to linguistics to contemporary radiologic science.
The most popular majors: biology (441 candidates); psychology
(387 candidates); economics (374
candidates); journalism and mass
communication (318 candidates);
political science (307 candidates);
business administration (294 candidates); exercise and sport science (285 candidates); history
(176 candidates); global studies
(173 candidates); and communication studies (170 candidates).
Top to bottom: cheerleaders Sarah Grady
and Jack Vynalek show their routine
while having their picture made at the Old
Well on May 8; the sun breaks through
at Carolina’s Spring Commencement on
May 10; graduate students process onto the
field at Kenan Stadium at Commencement;
and so do 50th reunion alums.
7
Mel anie Busbee
May 13, 2 015 Clockwise from top left: faculty members process through a sea of blue robes at Kenan
Stadium for Spring Commencement; Chancellor Carol L. Folt makes her remarks to the
crowd; graduates and parents mingle on Polk Place following the ceremony; and a graduate holds a sign in reference to the late long-time basketball coach Dean Smith.
Kilar’s call to graduates: ‘Make things better’
How did your education at Carolina help prepare you to venture
into a brand new field?
I tended to develop close relationships with professors who
were very much big fans of “the way the world could be.” I studied
in two different schools – the Kenan-Flagler Business School and
the Journalism and Mass Communications School – and I was
lucky to have very strong mentorship from both of those schools.
In the (journalism school), it was John Sweeney. He’s always
been the kind of mentor that thought about the future, looked
to the future and was always very comfortable with questioning the incumbent system. That had a very big impact on me,
as did my relationship with professor Gary Armstrong, who is
now retired. He was always so incredibly optimistic about the
world of business, its potential and where it can go.
How can students prepare for the future where new technology is
constantly changing and creating fields?
This has nothing to do with the current state of technology.
I think if you give advice tied to the current stage of technology
the advice is going to be out of favor or irrelevant very shortly.
The advice I would give to students is more macro.
It’s very important to develop empathy for those around you.
What I mean by that is that anything worth doing in life is about
serving others. Whether that’s a professional endeavor in business, a nonprofit endeavor or a medical endeavor, it’s all about
having empathy for those around you and using your skills and
Mel anie Busbee
Media and entertainment innovator Jason Kilar graduated
from Carolina in 1993 with degrees from both the School of
Journalism and Mass Communication and Kenan-Flagler
Business School.
He joined Amazon.com in 1997 and helped transform the company from largely a book retailer into a virtual warehouse, allowing consumers to buy almost anything from almost anywhere.
In 2007, he became founding CEO of Hulu, the online video
service that grew into the world’s most popular destination for
streaming television and movies. Kilar is now involved with
Vessel, a next-generation mobile video service that caters to
creators of short-form video by providing a place their most
passionate fans can go to watch their favorites first.
In a recent interview with Brandon Bieltz with the office of
Communications and Public Affairs, Kilar spoke about the
influence of his Carolina education and offered advice to graduates. Here are some highlights:
Commencement speaker Jason Kilar enjoys the event.
energy to make things better…
The way that I think of innovation is the relentless pursuit of
a better way. The advice I would give to students is to be restless: look at the world around them – and while they should
certainly appreciate it for all the wonderful things that it presents – they should also be restless and look inside themselves
to ask: “How can I make this better?”
8 U n ive rsity Gaze t t e
News
In B r i e f
‘Borderlands of the Iberian World’
“Borderlands of the Iberian World: Second International
Authors’ Colloquium” will take place May 14–17 at the FedEx
Global Education Center. This three-day event is co-sponsored
by the Mexico Research Network, the Council of American
Overseas Research Centers, the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Azcapotzalco and the Consulado General de Mexico
en Raleigh. The colloquium is principally a seminar among
the authors to review each other’s work. The session that is
open to the public is the “Forum on Migration and Cultural
Re-Creation across Borders” on May 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
For more information about the participating authors and the
schedule of events, please see go.unc.edu/Zg32T.
Rico over fall break 2015. go.unc.edu/k9Z7T
Sept. 21 – Applications to the 2016–17 Fulbright U.S.
Student Program. The program allows graduating seniors,
master’s students, doctoral candidates and recent graduates
to self-design a research/study project, or serve as an English teaching assistant in one of more than 140 countries.
Students should submit an interest form as soon as possible
and plan to attend an upcoming interest meeting. A full list is
available at go.unc.edu/Gg3s2.
Campus Compact Engaged Faculty
Scholars Initiative
Applications for the North Carolina Campus Compact
Engaged Faculty Scholars Initiative, which supports the integration of service learning and community engagement in
teaching, research and service, are due by May 22. Two individuals from the North Carolina Campus Compact network
will be selected to serve a one-year term. At the end of the program year, each scholar will receive a stipend and be expected
to share resources and materials with North Carolina Campus
Compact to assist others in the network. go.unc.edu/Wi6w9
Deadlines to watch
June 30 – Applications for Global Take Off: Puerto Rico,
a free opportunity from the Center for Global Initiatives to
take new students on an interactive, faculty-led trip to Puerto
Women in Public Service
Workshop to be held June 5
A one-day workshop, “Engaging Women in Public Service: Signals and
Strategies,” will be held June 5 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chapel Hill. The
workshop, offered by the School of Government, will include interactive
sessions focusing on gender bias in terms of body language, leadership,
overcoming barriers to career advancement and confidence building.
Carol Kinsey Goman, author of “The Silent Language of Leaders,” will
speak at the
event, alongside other
prominent
authors and
professionals.
To register
for the event,
visit go.unc.
edu/Qr5c4.
NEWS IN BRIEF Submissions
Next issue includes events from June 4 to June 24.
Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m., Fri., May 22.
Email [email protected]. The Gazette events page
includes only items of general interest geared toward
a broad audience. For complete listings of events,
see the Carolina Events Calendars at events.unc.edu.
‘Art in the American Civil War’
A session on “Art in the American Civil War” will be held May 28
from 7 to 9 p.m. in the George
Watts Hill Alumni Center’s Royall Room as part of the American
Civil War Series. Fred Kiger will
lead the lecture, which explores
the numerous artists who documented the war both for the sake
of art and for periodicals of the
period. For more information,
visit alumni.unc.edu or contact
South Moore at 919-843-0790.
contributed
Plan to donate blood June 2 at the 27th annual Carolina
Blood Drive. Doors at the Smith Center open at 7 a.m.
and close at 6 p.m. Parking is free, and donors will also get
free food and a special edition T-shirt. Schedule an appointment at redcrossblood.org (sponsor code UNC) or call
1-800-RED CROSS.
‘Decline of the U.S. Congress’
contributed
Carolina Blood Drive
A seminar on the “Decline
of the U.S. Congress” will
be held May 27 from 4:30
to 6 p.m. at Flyleaf Books in
Chapel Hill. Jason Roberts,
associate professor of political science, will address the
causes of the crisis of confidence that Congress faces
today and the potential consequences this could have on
policy-making. To register,
visit go.unc.edu/d9C6D.
May 13, 2 015 Larry Fedora Golf Tournament
contributed
The second annual Larry Fedora Golf Tournament will be held May 18 at
the Chapel Hill Country Club. Registration for the event, hosted by football
coach Larry Fedora, will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the event will start at 11 a.m.
Money raised from the tournament will benefit Volunteers for Youth’s
mentoring program. For more
information,
visit go.unc.
edu/a6NLc
or contact
Scott Dreyer at
919-967-4511.
Napoleon and His Legacy
work of the Garden’s Horticultural
Therapy program, which provides
rehabilitative sessions for underserved
audiences including the disabled,
hospice and hospital patients, at-risk
youth, prison inmates and seniors. Gala
guests will enjoy locally sourced food
and drink from Chapel Hill Catering
Company, live music as well as a silent
and live auction. Tickets are available
at www.ncbgfoundation.org.
Carolina Cornucopia
A two-day conference, “Carolina Cornucopia: A Conference on Foodways of the
Tar Heel State,” will be held May 29–30
at the Friday Center. The conference will
focus on the history, geography and culture
of North Carolina food with panelists, like
chef and food writer Moreton Neal, exploring a range of topics. The event is free except for an optional wine reception and dinner
program on May 29 that is $40 per person. go.unc.edu/o4PNf
contributed
The fourth annual Carolina Moonlight Gala will be held June 6 from 6 to
10 p.m. in the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s Platinum LEED-certified
event space at 100 Old Mason Farm
Road in Chapel Hill. Proceeds from
the fundraiser will support the garden’s
ongoing efforts in environmental protection, education and conservation.
This year’s specially designated
appeal highlights the extraordinary
A two-day seminar exploring “Napoleon and His Legacy” will be held
from 4:30 p.m. May 29 through 1 p.m. May 30 in honor of the 200th anniversary of Napoleon Bonaparte’s
final defeat at
Waterloo in June
1815. The seminar will examine Napoleon’s
significance and
impact as a military commander,
featuring speakers
like Maximilian
Owre and Lloyd
Kramer. Registration is half price
for teachers, and
teachers can also
receive a $75 stipend after attending. An optional
dinner will be
held Friday night.
go.unc.edu/Rf52J
9
10 U niv ersity Gazet t e
The many faces of Carolina
Finding his Heel print
An A-student at A.L. Brown High
School in his hometown of Kannapolis, Dillon Robinson struggled to hit the
mark in the classroom during his first
two semesters at Carolina.
But with the guidance of family,
friends, faculty mentors and Carolina
MALES (Men Advocating for Learning, Empowerment and Success), an
organization dedicated to providing
support for minority men, he found
himself where he wasn’t sure he was
ever going to be: among the more than
3,000 undergraduate students who
received their degrees at the May 10
Spring Commencement.
Robinson, a first-generation graduate with a degree in communications
studies, also became a member of the
prestigious Order of the Golden Fleece
honorary society.
“I realized there were a lot of people
who had invested a lot in me — my high
school guidance counselor, my parents,
teachers I’ve had along the way, high
school coaches, my church family,” he
said. “There were so many people that
supported me and I didn’t want to let
them down.”
Read more at go.unc.edu/x6GYy.
Making a difference for the
Cherokee community
Katlin Roberts has always known that she
would return home to Cherokee after graduation from Carolina.
Roberts, a citizen of the Eastern Band
of Cherokee Indians and a first-generation
college student, plans to become involved
in teaching and educational policy related
to American Indian issues.
“I feel more spiritually at home there,
because it is where my ancestors have
lived for thousands of years,” said Roberts,
who majored in American studies with
a concentration in American Indian and
indigenous studies.
She has been involved in leadership
positions with the Carolina Indian Circle
and the American Indian sorority Alpha Pi
Omega. She was a part of Unheard Voices,
the American Indian a cappella group. She
has taken all three levels of Cherokee language classes and has been a driving force
behind the weekly Cherokee Coffee Hour,
where participants immerse themselves in
Cherokee language and culture. During her
senior year, she worked on the formation
of a Cherokee language club. She wrote the
organization’s constitution.
She said one of the things that makes
Carolina so special is its diversity.
“There’s a place for everyone to feel
welcome,” Roberts said.
Read more at go.unc.edu/Ee6r5.
Hanging on a wall in Michael Meyer’s office are his diploma from the Emory
School of Medicine, a certificate showing the completion of his pediatric
residency at Duke University and a framed print of the Old Well.
That print was a stand-in for the diploma he never received from Carolina.
This past Sunday, the Roanoke, Virginia, pediatrician at long last realized his
dream of swapping out the print for the diploma – 48 years after he set foot on
campus as a freshman in 1967.
“It was just a longtime personal goal for me,” said the 66-year-old Meyer,
who for the last 10 years has gradually been earning the 13 credits needed
to complete his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the College of Arts
and Sciences.
He was not on campus to attend Commencement, but threw himself a graduation party to celebrate with his family and friends.
“I loved my time at Chapel Hill. I feel like I grew up there,” he said. “That’s why
I was so motivated to get this degree. All these years it’s been a very significant
part of my identity.”
Read more at go.unc.edu/c7F6D.
Meyer is pictured below, at left, with his wife and their grandchildren.
Contributed
Kristen Chavez
Point of pride
May 13, 2 015 11
Creating community
Kristen Chavez
Reena Gupta, who graduated Sunday with a degree in public policy, not only
immersed herself in the Carolina community over the past four years, she helped
create one – through Healthy Girls Save the World.
With a pool of local sixth– to ninth-grade applicants from schools near Chapel
Hill to choose from, Healthy Girls Save The World leaders select 40 to mentor
through the academic year.
“We bring these girls on campus, introduce them to female role models, rely on
School of Public Health to bring in subject matter experts and do all sorts of fun
things with them,” Gupta said.
During her time at Carolina, Gupta earned a Summer Undergraduate Research
Fellowship, the Bryan Social Innovation Fellowship and she was a Resolution
Project Fellow – all while also joining a few dance troupes on campus.
“There are so many aspects of Carolina, so many communities and personalities and diverse communities,” she said. “So, somewhere there is something
for you.”
After graduation, Gupta will head to San Francisco where she will complete the
New Sector Alliance Residency in Social Enterprise (RISE) Fellowship.
Read more at go.unc.edu/Zo2k4.
Helping others succeed
Richard Cox
Christopher Gremillion offers this piece
of advice for transfer students: Try stuff.
Gremillion, a 33-year-old Carolina
senior, entered Carolina in fall 2013 as
part of the Carolina Student Transfer
Excellence Program (C-STEP) at Craven
Community College. His wife, Terri, and
12-year-old daughter, Bodhi, have cheered
for him every step of the way.
Gremillion, a biology major and firstgeneration college student, has been
a member of the C-STEP Leadership
Group, the Transfer Student Success
Committee, the Undergraduate Bulletin
Committee and the Advising Peer Focus
Group. He has served as a C-STEP peer
mentor and UNC student orientation
leader and was a speaker at the 2014
C-STEP kickoff event. At Craven Community College, he won the Dean’s Excellence Award for Campus Service – twice.
In the process of trying all these things,
he realized his true passion was in student
affairs, helping other transfer students like
himself. He has been accepted into Appalachian State University’s master’s in higher
education program, where he will pursue a
concentration in community college and
university leadership.
Gremillion’s parting tip for transfer students: “Connect with all the students around
you in class. You never know who will be able
to help you and who you will be able to help.”
Read more at go.unc.edu/n3L8J.
When she first arrived at Vassar
College in Poughkeepsie, New York,
Emma Woelk aspired to work in research
science, but added German studies
classes “just for fun.”
That was until a study abroad trip to
Germany quickly reversed her interests.
“When I was in Berlin, I worked in
a lab as part of my biology major, but I
realized I was way more interested in the
language, history and culture of Germany
and exploring that than the actual lab
work,” she said.
Eight years after first roaming Germany and learning her passion for the
country was more than just a hobby,
Woelk earned her Ph.D. in German Studies as the first graduate of the CarolinaDuke Graduate Program in German
Studies, a collaborative program the two
launched in 2009.
While in the program, Woelk focused
on the Yiddish language and its use
in Cold War-era literature. After graduating, Woelk will return to her hometown of Austin, Texas, where she
will teach language and culture as
the only German professor at Saint
Edward’s University.
Read more at go.unc.edu/Xw65R.
Contributed
A collaborative degree
Article credits for pages 10 and 11: ‘Finding his Heel print’ and ‘A collaborative degree’ by Brandon Bieltz, Office of Communications and Public Affairs. ‘Point of Pride’ by Geneva Collins, College of Arts
and Sciences. ‘Making a difference for the Cherokee community’ and ‘Helping transfer students succeed’ by Kim Weaver Spurr, College of Arts and Sciences. ‘Creating community’ by Carly Swain, Office of
Communications and Public Affairs.
12 U niv ersity Gazet t e
‘Sons of the Sixties’ answer a distant call
A search for survivors
North Carolina Collection Photogr aphic Archives
Hamilton said it was “sometimes necessary
to write 15 letters concerning one name. In all,
he added, over a thousand were sent out.”
“The reception of the news by the veterans
was touching,” he added.
The letters and postcards that the war veterans sent back to Hamilton now fill two folders
in the University Archives.
One of them was sent by Armistead Hill
Patterson of Wilmington, who told Hamilton
the invitation to campus had made him wistful
of old times come and gone. “It seems to me
that no friendships are like those formed in our
early days; that the affections blossom, bud
and yield rich fruit,” Patterson wrote.
William Richardson of Selma wrote: “It is
late, much too late for many, but yet a few are
left that will appreciate the honour that will be
conferred upon us.”
William M. Davies, who left the University
in July 1861 to join the sharpshooters of the
2nd Georgia Regiment, was running a law
school in Asheville when Hamilton’s invitation arrived. “It would give me great pleasure
to attend the forthcoming commencement
and linger for awhile amid the scenes of many
fond recollections,” Davies wrote. “In consequence of extreme feebleness I am not now
in a position to state definitely whether I can
be present.”
John E. Donalson of Bainbridge,
Georgia, wrote Hamilton that he left
the University in 1863 to join Morgan’s Raiders, the Kentucky cavalry
regiment led by Brigadier Gen. John
Hunt Morgan. “I was then 16 years
of age, but before I got with my command was taken sick with measles,”
Donalson wrote.
The measles, he explained, probably
saved his life. In July 1863, Morgan’s
Raiders launched a cavalry raid that
ended in Ohio with most of the raiders
captured or killed. He went on to fight
with the Florida Calvary, then went
home to Georgia to live out his days
“practicing law, saw milling, turpentining and farming.”
As for attending the reunion in Chapel Hill, Donaldson said, “I am afraid
that all whom I knew are now dead…
This being the case I would be very
lonely at the reunion.”
Alfred Holt of Augusta, Georgia,
Hillsborough native Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac
wrote Hamilton that he was too ill
Hamilton began his long career on the Carolina faculty
to attend but would be present in
in 1906 as associate professor of history and became
Alumni Professor and head of the History Department
spirit. “The two periods of my life
in 1908. In 1930, he founded the Southern Historical
that I cherish the most are my student
Collection. He retired in 1948; in 1972, the new builddays at the University and my army
ing for the departments of history, political science and
sociology was named for him. His best-known books
life in the cause of the South, and
are “Reconstruction in North Carolina” (1914), “Party
now that the one so honors the other
Politics in North Carolina, 1835–60” (1916), “North
fills me with even more than the
Carolina Since 1860” (1919), and biographies of
utmost satisfaction.”
Robert E. Lee (1917) and Henry Ford (1926).
A triumphant
return
From the hundreds of letters
Hamilton mailed, he found 106
“living alumni entitled to the
degree” to whom invitations
were sent.
Of the 106 living veterans
who received invitations, only
32 managed to attend.
They began arriving on campus on Friday, May 26, Hamilton wrote, using “the old familiar buildings as guides” as they
visited their old rooms and
reunited with classmates from
50 years before.
On the morning of May 29,
the Confederate veterans held
a reunion inside Gerrard Hall,
the building where they once
attended daily chapel, where they
were welcomed by Edward Kidder Graham, who was then dean
In 1864, Julian Shakespeare Carr (above right) of Chapel Hill
of the College of Liberal Arts.
enlisted in the Confederate army and served with the Third
The next morning, May 30, North Carolina Cavalry. After witnessing the surrender at Ap1911, they gathered outside pomattox, he returned to Chapel Hill and enrolled at UNC for
Alumni Hall for the processional the 1865–1866 term. At the 1911 commencement, he was the
march to Memorial Hall, built in only member of the 1866 class present and “was greeted with
extraordinary applause when he mounted the stage,” accord1885 to honor the Confederate ing to University Magazine.
dead a decade after the University reopened.
who did something that could by no conceivThe University Record of June 1911
able chance benefit their private fortunes. They
described the significance of the occasion with
performed an act of self-abnegation and absothese words: “Tuesday, May the 30th – the
lutely unselfish service and now their presence
day in which the University sent forth from
makes glad this Commencement day.”
its halls 122 graduates to take up the work of
The previous fall, Wilson resigned as presithe world, while it called back from the blare
dent of Princeton University days before
of the bugle and the myriad voices of painful,
he was elected governor of New Jersey; the
constructive labor, 106 war-scarred heroes to
receive her highest benediction – will long next fall, he would be elected president of the
stand out in the history of the University as United States.
Six years later after delivering the 1911 Comone of its greatest days. For the young, it was
mencement
address, Wilson appeared before
full of visions; for the old, it was rich with tenCongress
to
ask
for a declaration of war on Gerder memories; for all, it was sacred.”
many
to
“make
the
world safe for democracy.”
William Thomas Joyner, one of the 1911
graduates, took the podium to welcome the And once again, young men were called to arms.
Among them was Joyner, who was practicreturning veterans home.
ing
law in Raleigh when he left to fight World
“We are glad that we have the opportunity
War
I with the field artillery, rising to the rank
of personal touch with these sons of the University who have been tried in fire and not of major.
According to his personal papers in the
found wanting, who have seen life clearly and
Southern
Historical Collection, Joyner
seen it whole and who now come to mingle
became
a
prominent
figure in the state Demowith us – our superiors in years, wisdom and
experience, our classmates and elder brothers cratic Party and practiced law until 1979, but
in spirit, in heart and in loyal love of a common his interest in military affairs stuck with him
the rest of his life. In 1923, he was made colomother,” Joyner said.
Another son of the South, Virginia native nel of the 113th Field Artillery of the North
Woodrow Wilson, delivered the Commence- Carolina National Guard, serving until 1932.
Thereafter, he was regularly addressed as
ment address that ended with this stirring
“Colonel.”
exhortation: “Young men, do not go out of
To read the 1911 commencement program
this University without taking with you all the
strength of the traditions that glorify the place go to go.unc.edu/k6PEr.
left here by the men who were here before. ...
– Gary Moss, Gazette
Gathered here today is a company of gentlemen
North Carolina Collection Photogr aphic Archives
A
t Carolina’s 2015 Commencement,
the 50th reunion class of 1965 was
honored by leading a procession onto
the field. But just over a century ago, the University honored some very different “Sons of the
Sixties” – the students who left the University
to fight for the Confederacy.
The fascinating story of how one dogged
faculty member tracked them down to extend
an invitation for the aged veterans to attend
the Commencement they never had also
involves a fresh-faced 1911 graduate and the
future president who would send him to fight
the war to end all wars.
In fall of 1910, the University of North Carolina decided it was time to honor all former students who, during the period from 1861 to 1865,
left the University to fight for the Confederacy.
The idea, which the faculty conceived and trustees later endorsed, was to confer upon these
Civil War veterans, both living and dead, the
degree of A.B. at the Commencement of 1911.
It fell to Joseph Gregoire de Roulhac
Hamilton, a young history professor who
had joined the faculty in 1906, to find them
and extend the invitation to attend the Commencement and receive their degrees.
It was not an easy task, Hamilton said, as
he explained in an article titled “The Return
of the War Classes” published in the October
1911 issue of “The University Magazine.”