The Martin Luther King University/Community Planning Corp. has honored University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser with its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Citizenship Award.
Moeser was recognized during the group’s 23rd memorial banquet, part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration, Sunday night (Jan. 20) at the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center on the UNC campus. The award goes to citizens in “recognition of enduring service to humanity by word and by deed.” Moeser spoke on behalf of the University at the event, which celebrates the legacy of King in promoting respect and human dignity.
Archie Ervin, associate provost for diversity and multicultural affairs at the University, made the award presentation. He cited Moeser’s contributions to North Carolina and Orange County in promoting diversity and increasing access for students to higher education. Ervin said it was unusual for this award to be presented to someone after a relatively short period of service to Chapel Hill and Carrboro. He said Moeser was selected because the impact of his leadership had been so significant for both the state and local communities.
Among the University’s achievements during Moeser’s tenure has been the Carolina Covenant, which provides a debt-free education to qualified low-income students. The program sparked a movement in American higher education and has been a model for about 40 other programs around the country, including on North Carolina campuses. The Carolina Covenant, which graduates its first class of seniors this spring, was a major reason that UNC was recently named the No. 1 value in American public higher education by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine for the seventh consecutive time. Orange County residents have been among the 1,400 students benefitting from the program, which includes a mentoring component featuring volunteer faculty and older Covenant students.
Moeser also has championed the University's longtime commitment to diversity and an open intellectual community since arriving in 2000. He appointed a campus task force that produced the University's first diversity plan, which is being implemented. The campus has also marked progress in several key areas including expanding the diversity of the student body with each entering class in recent years.
Moeser, the University’s ninth chancellor, will leave his post in June as the longest-serving UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor since Christopher Fordham.
The MLK University/Community Planning Corp., a non-profit group founded in 1993, promotes religious reconciliation and raises scholarship funds for high school students in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County and UNC students who work to improve the quality of life for everyone in the community.
The annual banquet and award presentation help kick off UNC’s MLK Week Celebration. For details, see www.unc.edu/diversity/mlk/
Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/admin/chancellor/moeser_headshot.jpg
Contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593 or (919) 614-5436, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu