 |
|||
|
The focus of a leader Michael Kennedy and the Carolina First Minority Alumni Committee |
|||
 |
|||
|
Michael Kennedy describes himself as something of a No. 1 fan of the Tar Heels. Friends of the Atlanta alumnus—who regularly travels to Carolina football and basketball road games—say he has a knack for landing front row seats where you will often spot him on television, a Carolina blue island in a sea of the opposing team's colors. Kennedy even braves the unfriendly confines of Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium adorned in his lighter shade of blue. Kennedy's stalwart advocacy for Carolina goes beyond the sports arena. The 1979 graduate is a committed leader of the Carolina First Campaign to position Carolina as the nation's leading public university. When the University asked him to help steer a campaign committee, it tapped a man with leadership in his blood. Kennedy—who serves on the Carolina First Steering Committee and heads up the campaign's Minority Focus Committee—grew up in Winston-Salem as the son of trailblazing parents. His mother, Annie Brown Kennedy, was the first African-American woman to serve in the N.C. General Assembly. She remained the only female African American to have served in the legislature until 1986. |
 |
||
|
“My brothers and I have always been taught to contribute positively to society, to involve ourselves with our schools and other organizations meaningful to us,” Kennedy said. “I've been active with the University and my high school, Exeter, to help ensure kids coming up today have similar opportunities to attend schools of this caliber.” He is also active in the Atlanta community and chairs the board for the $14 billion fund for the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. Kennedy is a managing director and partner in the global financial services practice at Korn Ferry International in Atlanta—the largest executive recruiting firm in the world. He specializes in building strong executive teams for his clients, and he is recognized as a national leader in helping businesses achieve diversity in their hiring. In July, he testified as an expert in a related area for the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on oversight and investigations. His work on the Minority Focus Committee brings his expertise to bear on the University. The committee includes subcommittees directly focused on engaging African-American, Native American, Asian and Latino alumni and friends with Carolina's future. This is the first organized initiative by the University to reach out in a targeted way to these groups. “Historically, these groups have never been pursued, and that presents Carolina with a great opportunity to recognize powerful new constituencies,” Kennedy said. “We have so many talented and distinguished Carolina minorities; re-engaging them as a group has great implications for the University. The very fact that we are undertaking this endeavor positions Carolina as a leader in this area.” Kennedy began this initiative with a series of meetings and focus group sessions to gauge how minority alumni were relating to the University. He found that, while most had positive experiences as students and held a favorable view of Carolina, there was little formal connection back to the campus. Kennedy is helping to change that. “In the process of reconnecting and encouraging minority participation in the campaign, we are finding gifted candidates for service on University boards. We are diversifying these boards and laying the groundwork for minority alumni involvement to become a greater part of the Carolina fabric, even after we move beyond the Carolina First Campaign,” he said. Kennedy's own involvement in the University exceeds his work as a volunteer leader of the campaign. He was a board member for the General Alumni Association, and he has supported both academics and athletics at Carolina for more than 20 years. He has given to the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, a merit scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. One of his campaign commitments established the Willie Hall Kennedy Scholarship Fund in the School of Education—honoring his grandmother who taught in Forsyth County schools for 30 years. The scholarship supports outstanding juniors at Carolina who plan to teach in North Carolina's public school system. He also supports Carolina athletics with campaign gifts to the Educational Foundation. “At Carolina, academics and athletics go hand-in-hand as far as being successful and doing things the right way,” Kennedy said. “That's a rare quality and yet another example of true leadership from Carolina. “My experience at Carolina was exceptional. The University provides for such a well-rounded education,” he said. “It makes me want to give back, and that giving plays a vital role in staying connected to campus.” Kennedy believes the Carolina First Campaign is the most important initiative the University has ever undertaken. “In striving to be the leader among public universities,” he said, “Carolina needs to involve everyone—everyone has to do his or her part to make it happen.” Michael Kennedy's part is leading the way. |
|||
|
|||