Saturday, Oct. 12
1:30 p.m. — about 3:30 p.m.
Polk Place Quad (between South Building and Wilson Library)
UNC-Chapel Hill campus
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will install Dr. Carol Folt as its 11th chancellor on University Day, Saturday, Oct.12, the birthday of the nation’s first state university. Folt, the first woman to lead Carolina, will deliver an installation address, and the University will honor distinguished alumni and a faculty member with awards during a festive ceremony steeped in campus history.
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 chancellors on this day.
UNC President Tom Ross will preside during the ceremony, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. with special music and a processional including faculty in academic regalia, students, staff, alumni and visiting higher education officials. Several speakers will bring greetings. And Sarah Parker, chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, will administer the oath of office. After Folt delivers her speech, the ceremony will conclude with the ringing of the South Building bell 11 times.
Seating and parking are limited. News media representatives covering the ceremony should RSVP to Rob Holliday in News Services (rob_holliday@unc.edu) by 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10. Please indicate how many seats at the ceremony and parking spots your organization will need. Limited parking will be available in the nearby Bynum Hall lot, but priority will go to broadcast media and heavy equipment. Additional media parking will be available at News Services, 210 Pittsboro St. Please be prepared to show a media credential to gain access to these lots.
Media sign-in required: All media representatives, including videographers and still photographers, must sign in at a media information table behind the Campus Y before or during the ceremony. You will receive details to help with coverage, including media kits, equipment set-up and access to Polk Place, which will be limited to a designated media area. Photographs and video recording from a closer location will be permitted during select portions of the ceremony. News Services staff will escort photographers and videographers to that spot before Folt takes her oath of office. Photographers and videographers interested in shooting from this closer location should be in the media area and ready to move by 2:30 p.m.
Audio-video feed: Microphones or other equipment will not be permitted on the stage. Saturday’s ceremony will be broadcast live statewide on UNC-EX, a digital channel operated by UNC-TV. UNC-TV will provide a clean, switched-camera, high-definition pool feed of the ceremony. Broadcasters can record this feed in the media information area behind the Campus Y building. A clean, high-definition, 1080i feed of the ceremony will also be available for downlink. Please contact Rob Holliday (rob_holliday@unc.edu) for more information.
Weather note: If rain is forecast, an official announcement will be made in advance about moving the ceremony to the Dean E. Smith Center.
For more information about Folt, how she has spent her time since July as chancellor, and the installation, visit www.unc.edu, http://chancellor.unc.edu and http://installation.unc.edu.
Following the ceremony, visit http://www.unc.edu and news.unc.edu for more information and University coverage.
News Services contact: Rob Holliday, (919) 843-6322, rob_holliday@unc.edu