Faculty Support

Social Media, Smart Phones and the Adolescent Brain

The Winston National Center on Technology Use, Brain and Psychological Development will create more tools for parents, caregivers and teens to make better-informed choices about how they interact with technology and social media.

Keely Muscatell studies how psychological experiences influence what happens in the immune system, a field called psychoneuroimmunology. (photo by Alyssa LaFaro; illustration by Corina Cudebec)

Supporting Innovative Research Through Seed Funding

Ann Cowan ’75 and the Cowan Family Foundation established the Ann Rankin Cowan Excellence Fund for High-Impact Research to provide seed funding for faculty in the early stages of innovative research.

Morehead-Cain Alumni Distinguished Professor Geoff Sayre-McCord, the founding director of the program

Investing in Faculty, Students and Programs Through Leadership and Philanthropy

“We are committed to the idea of exposing students to the work of free-market thinkers; and the PPE Program, by its very nature, does this well, while also exposing students to the critics of, and alternatives to, free markets,” said the Langmans. “This is an incredibly enriching program at Carolina

Laura Moore conducts fieldwork on the North Carolina coast. (photo by Mary Lide Parker)

Geological Sciences Faculty Benefit from Former Graduate Student’s Gifts

Elijah White, M.S. ’84, gives annually to both the Dr. John M. Dennison Faculty Excellence Fund in Geological Sciences and the Arts and Sciences Fund.

Donald Haggis holds a copy of “Hippocrates on Head Wounds” by Maury Hanson.

A Doctor’s Love of Ancient Medicine Leads to Gift for Classics Department

Maury Hanson spent his career as a surgeon in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area. After retiring, Hanson decided to become a Tar Heel and study ancient medicine.

Director’s Fund for Excellence in Latin American Studies

An anonymous donor established the Director’s Fund for Excellence in Latin American Studies — a fund that provides resources to the Institute for the Study of the Americas for faculty and student support, course development, summer internships and public lectures.

Theo Dingemans, principal investigator for the Sustainable Access to Clean Water Creativity Hub, works alongside Anna Fraser, a PhD candidate in the chemistry department on November 6, 2019 on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The project aims to use the convergent science approach to bring different groups across campus together to tackle large, global issues (Photo By Jeyhoun Allebaugh).

Institute for Convergent Science. Ready. Set. Go.

The Edwards Family Fund for Excellence in Convergent Science was created by Rob ’89 and his wife, Leigh Edwards ’90, to help provide valuable startup resources for the Institute for Convergent Science. This funding helps to move ideas from basic research into transformative applications for society.

Students and faculty at the 9th Annual AAAD Undergraduate Research Conference

African, African American and Diaspora Studies Creates Excellence Fund in Honor of Eunice Sahle

The endowment will ensure the department has resources to sustain creative scholarly opportunities for students and faculty alike.

Fenaba Rena Addo, associate professor of public policy.

Growing Faculty Excellence

“The Huntington Hobbs Jr. Endowment Fund for Faculty Excellence provided me with the resources to pursue my research goal,” said Addo, who was able to purchase books, attend conferences to present works in progress and procure software to conduct statistical analyses.

Leve and cultural heritage activist Alina Tamrakar interview the resident monk at Deva Dharma Mahavihar, a Buddhist monastery located in front of the stupa. (photo by Alok Tamrakar)

Ellison Family Fund and Buddhism Educational Opportunities Fund support scholar’s Nepali 3D imaging project

As an Ellison Family Faculty Fellow in the Institute for Arts and Humanities, Religious studies scholar Lauren Leve was given “a rare opportunity that came at a critical time for me professionally.”

Video: Groundbreaking Discovery

The Lori and Eric Sklut Undergraduate Experiential Learning Fund provides eager students with opportunities to venture outside of the classroom through study abroad and faculty-mentored research.

“I took two classes in San Cristóbal, one on immigration to the United States from Latin America and one on Latin American literature. We traveled to various beaches on the island, several giant tortoise reservations and to Santa Cruz, another island in the archipelago. I told my friends and family that there were so many ‘best parts’ of the trip — the food, the friends I made, the immigration course, the amazing views and weather, my super sweet host family, the friendly citizens of Puerto Baquerizo — I could go on. “The experience opened my eyes to a completely different way of life, while simultaneously making me appreciate the culture and living conditions of the United States. The course on immigration taught me a lot about the violent and desperate conditions that cause Latin Americans to immigrate to the United States. Additionally, it showed me how complex the process of legal immigration is and the various ways in which Latino immigrants are exploited in the United States. Still, despite all these barriers and threats, many choose to immigrate. Learning this from a perspective outside of the U.S. really brought home this idea to me because I was separated from many things that I take for granted in the U.S. I did not expect that through study abroad, I would gain an appreciation for my home country.” - Trevor Pharr ’23, a music and chemistry double major

A Plan and a Partnership

John and Marree Townsend’s commitments to UNC-Chapel Hill over the years have been both plentiful and purposeful — and none more so than their gift to the College of Arts and Sciences to establish the Townsend Family Strategic Initiatives Fund.

In October 2018, Cemil Aydin (fourth from left) spoke at the Syria in Transition event held by Carolina Public Humanities and the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Islamic Studies. Aydin was joined by Hiba Alzouby Pharm.D. ’21 (fourth from right) and Kamel Alachraf (second from right) as well as several Syrian refugees for a panel discussion about the global significance of the Syrian war and refugee migration.

Supporting Outstanding Faculty

Forty-six percent of College faculty receive some form of philanthropic support. Cemil Aydin, professor of history and religious studies, is one such faculty member. Aydin was the recipient of the Clein Family Initiative in Global and Islamic History through the department of history in 2020-2021.

Dean Jim White meeting students as they line up to take a sip from the Old Well on the first day of classes. The time-honored tradition began in the 1980s and was promoted as a way to ensure academic success.

Endowed Deanship Drives College Forward

A gift from Vicki ’92 and David Craver ’92 will provide a lasting endowment that will give deans of the College unrestricted support as they advance scholarship, discovery and strategic priorities aimed at the College’s core mission.

Retired Admiral Dennis Blair, a 34-year Navy veteran who was President Barack Obama’s first director of national intelligence, is the University’s first Knott Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Practice in the peace, war and defense curriculum in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Leader in National Intelligence Joins Faculty as Inaugural Knott Distinguished Visiting Professor

In 2019, Admiral Dennis Blair, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence and leader of 16 national intelligence agencies — joined Carolina’s Peace, War and Defense curriculum faculty.

Faculty Fellows gather and discuss their research weekly in Hyde Hall, the home of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.

Helping Faculty Flourish

During the Campaign for Carolina, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities raised more than $8.8 million to support 23 faculty fellowship funds (both new and previously established funds).

Graduate students perform research on local living shorelines through the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences. (photo by Mary Lide Parker)

The Cross-Pollination of Science at Carolina

Margaret and Tillman Cooley, B.S. ’65 (Ph.D. ’70) support the department of earth, marine, and environmental sciences at Carolina. “Synergy is so important, and it works – I know,” said Tillman Cooley. “I’m so excited to see how our UNC scientists cross-pollinate and flourish.”