Students, faculty, staff and local residents are invited to attend the installation of Holden Thorp as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s 10th chancellor on University Day, Oct. 12.
Students, faculty, staff and local residents are invited to attend the installation of Holden Thorp as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s 10th chancellor on University Day, Oct. 12.
“University Day is one of the most important days of the year at Carolina, and the installation of Chancellor Thorp trumpets the next stage of the continuing journey for our University,” said Dr. Joe Templeton, chair of the faculty and the installation committee. “We hope the Carolina family – students, staff, faculty, alumni, parents and friends – and the community will attend, both to show their support and to hear Chancellor Thorp describe his vision for the University.”
Holden Thorp |
Thorp will deliver an installation address during the free, public ceremony, which will begin at 3 p.m. in Polk Place, the quadrangle between South Building and Wilson Library. A reception will follow in Polk Place. Parking is available in the Dean E. Smith Center lots, with shuttle service starting at 2 p.m. If rain is forecast, an official announcement will be made in advance about moving the ceremony to the Smith Center.
University Day began in 1877 to commemorate the 1793 placing of the cornerstone of Old East, the nation’s first state university building. Since 1957, the University has installed its chancellors on this day.
The ceremony to install Thorp will begin at about 2:40 p.m. when the UNC Symphony Band and UNC Wind Ensemble begin a pre-processional concert with the Carolina Choir. About 200 student musicians will participate in performances featuring “Festive Overture,” by Dmitri Shostakovich and “Hymn Jubilar” by George Enescu. Following a traditional academic procession that will include delegates from other universities and University representatives, UNC President Erskine Bowles will preside.
Carolina will present five Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Awards, created in 1971 to recognize “alumni who had distinguished themselves in a manner that brought credit to the University.” This year’s recipients are:
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Mary Wilmer (Molly) Barker Mary Wilmer (Molly) Barker, founder and vision keeper of Girls on the Run International, an experiential learning program for girls ages 8 to 13. During the last decade, the program has grown to include more than 100 councils serving 40,000 girls across the United States and Canada. Barker designed the program as an outlet for young girls to address “girl box issues,” restrictions placed on women that make them follow a particular path in order to be recognized and valued.
- William Joseph Bynum Jr., chief executive officer and president of ECD/HOPE (Enterprise Corporation of the Delta and Hope Community Credit Union), a private non-profit community development financial institution. A member of the UNC Class of 1982, he helped launch the Durham-based Self Help Credit Union and served as director of programs at the N.C. Rural Center. He also has advised Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on community development matters.
William Joseph Bynum Jr. |
- Dr. Walter Lowry Caudill, retired worldwide
Dr. Walter Lowry Caudill president of pharmaceutical development for Cardinal Health and co-founder of Magellan Laboratories. A graduate of the chemistry department, he co-founded Magellan Laboratories with Alfred Childers. In 1998, Caudill and Childers were named Entrepreneur of the Year for North and South Carolina. Caudill was a steering committee member of the Carolina First Campaign and led the steering committee raising funds for the Carolina Physical Science Complex.
- Dr. Leah McCall Devlin, State Health Director, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of
Dr. Leah McCall Devlin Public Health. After earning her undergraduate degree at Carolina, she went on to receive a doctorate in dentistry and master’s degree in public health. Devlin was director of the Wake County Department of Health before joining the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services in 1996. She became the first woman State Health Director in 2001.
- and Dr. Debra Wehrle Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools,
Dr. Debra Wehrle Stewart the only national organization dedicated solely to graduate education and research. She took that post in 2000 after serving as vice chancellor and dean of N.C. State University’s Graduate School. The UNC Ph.D. graduate was also interim chancellor at UNC-Greensboro in 1997. Stewart’s service to graduate education includes chairing the Graduate Record Examination Board, the Council on Research Policy and Graduate Education and the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools.
Bringing greetings during the ceremony will be Hannah Gage, chair, UNC Board of Governors; Roger Perry, chair, University’s Board of Trustees; J.J. Raynor, student body president; Eleanor Saunders Morris, chair-elect, General Alumni Association; Tommy Griffin, chair, Employee Forum; and Templeton, the faculty chair. Also speaking will be Allan Gurganus, one of North Carolina’s distinguished writers known for his novels, stories and essays.
Patricia Timmons-Goodson, associate justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, will administer the oath of office to Thorp, who will receive the Chancellor’s Medallion from Bowles before his speech. When the ceremony ends, the South Building Bell will ring 10 times in honor of the University’s 10th chancellor.
The UNC Board of Governors unanimously elected Thorp as chancellor last May, and he started work on July 1. A 1986 UNC graduate, Thorp, 44, has rapidly progressed through several leadership posts since joining the faculty 15 years ago. A native of Fayetteville, he is Kenan Professor of Chemistry and an award-winning teacher and researcher. Thorp was the unanimous choice of the Chancellor Search Committee. He was nominated to the UNC System's Board of Governors by UNC President Erskine Bowles. Previously, he was dean of the University’s College of Arts and Sciences.
For updates on University Day activities and more details about the award winners, visit www.unc.edu/installation.
News Services contacts: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu; and Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu