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Celebrating Carolina's Diversity
 Greetings friends and alumni,
A new year has arrived, and with it new and exciting opportunities to re–establish and re–affirm our connection and commitment to Carolina. The Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, along with dedicated volunteers and staff, have been working diligently to further enrich UNC’s multicultural community and deepen our engagement in the life of the University.
We’ve accomplished a great deal, and I am excited to bring you the latest edition of our newsletter, Celebrating Carolina’s Diversity, with updates, news and features about what we’re doing at Carolina and elsewhere to make a difference.
It’s wonderful to see the campus community becoming more diverse with each entering class. It’s inspiring to see alumni and friends gathering at area events from as near as Apex to as far as New York City to share their experiences, renew old friendships and forge new ones. It’s exciting that our University is offering tremendous cultural experiences like the recent Asian Student Association event, Journey into Asia, and the upcoming performance of the Beijing Dance troupe in Memorial Hall. It’s especially meaningful to celebrate Black History month in February and to have honored Hispanic heritage in September–October and American Indian heritage in November. And it’s gratifying to bear witness to the shifting landscape on campus to a more inclusive, multicultural and dynamic atmosphere.
It’s unbelievable how quickly time passes, so let’s make every moment count. Become involved with the Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity’s efforts.
Enjoy Celebrating Carolina’s Diversity, and thanks for all you’re doing to make Carolina a great place for everyone.
Teresa Artis ‘83
African–American Subcommittee Chair
Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Who are today’s Tar Heels?
They are bright, vibrant and curious. Carolina is committed to recruiting and enrolling students whose intellect and talent along with their varied backgrounds and perspectives contribute to the learning environment for everyone at UNC. The University actively seeks the strongest and most diverse students and encourages them to apply and enroll at Carolina.
Entering first–year students continue to break new records for ethnic and geographic diversity.
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Archie Ervin will lead diversity efforts at Georgia Tech, and leaves a legacy of steady guidance to help Carolina remain a university of the people
 Archie Ervin came to Carolina almost 30 years ago seeking a life direction and, in the process, found his passion. Having overcome long odds for his own academic success to be the first in his family to earn a college degree, UNC’s former associate provost for diversity and multicultural affairs has taken his talent and empathy for opening doors for others to a whole new level.
Ervin was named the first vice president for institute diversity at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, Ga., and began his tenure on Jan. 1. He will develop and guide the institution’s strategy for creating a more inclusive campus environment and serve a senior leadership role in the president’s cabinet. Having guided diversity and multicultural initiatives here at UNC and spearheaded a number of new and innovative projects, he is well–heeled to take on a new challenge.
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Featured Donor:
Bill Small: A lifetime of commitment to UNC public health
By Linda Kastleman
 Editor’s note: This article appeared in the Fall 2010 issue of Carolina Public Health magazine, a publication of UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health
Nearly 40 years ago, William T. Small Jr., MSPH, was a recent alumnus of the UNC master’s program in environmental sciences and engineering. He was working for the North Carolina State Board of Health when an exciting career opportunity arose.
Black students in the UNC public health school were expressing concerns about the lack of diversity in the classroom, and Dean Fred Mayes wanted to find a full–time minority recruiter who could help increase minority student enrollment. It was Small, a native of Wilmington, N.C., who proved to be a perfect fit for the job.
Within a year of his taking the position, the number of minority students increased from 20 to 49.
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The Sean Douglas Initiative: Developing tomorrow’s leaders
 In fall of 2010, two Carolina alumni, accompanied by the Douglas family, approached the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History looking to honor a deceased classmate in a way that was both meaningful to the legacy of Sean Douglas and helpful to Carolina students. While at Carolina, Sean earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1995. He was a member of the Mu Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and participated in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. After graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army where he specialized in aviation, becoming a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.
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Renwick Initiative: Passing the torch
 When Angela Crocker ‘08 came to UNC in 2004, she anticipated that her college career would be an extension of her academic success in high school. What she couldn’t predict was the active role the University would play in enabling her to reach her goals and help her classmates achieve theirs as well.
Angela participated in both the Minority Advising Program (MAP) as an advisee and advisor, and was also an annual honoree at the Academic Achievement Awards dinner. Spearheaded by the late Dean Hayden B. Renwick, these programs encourage and support the academic success of minority students as well as celebrate their accomplishments.
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New ‘Invest in Carolina’ website launches, aims to enhance donor experience
The website for the Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity has a new look! Part of the Office of University Development’s website, both have been redesigned to make it easier for donors to get news and updates, give to UNC, and also provide services to enhance their experience.
New features include:
- A step-by-step guide to help donors choose the gift that is best for them.
- A Giving History Lookup tool that enables donors to review their pledge and gift record since 1983.
- A contact form donors can use to submit a question about how their gift or pledge has been processed.
- A contact form donors can use to update their contact information.
- An FAQ to help donors make their gift or pledge.
The Invest in Carolina site was developed by the Office of University Development and UNC’s ITS Web Services.
Student profile: Meet Nisha Verma ‘11
 Carolina’s Center for Public Service and its APPLES Service Learning programs offer students myriad possibilities to become involved with the campus and community and explore their own personal aspirations as well.
Such was the case for senior Nisha Verma, who came to UNC from her native Greensboro, N.C., with a commitment to both serve and learn. Now, as president of UNC’s APPLES service learning program, she aims to take that even further. She says service has always been a part of her life, and she intends to commit her vocation to serving others as well—just as a good doctor should.
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Faculty/Staff Recognition
 UNC School of Law Professor Catherine Y. Kim and colleagues examine a disturbing trend that shows large numbers of at–risk youth, particularly those of color, being “pushed” out of the classroom and into the justice system in a new book: the School–to–prison Pipeline: structuring legal reform.
“The book presents the intersection of a k–12 educational system and a juvenile justice system, which too often fail to serve our nation’s at–risk youth.”
– Introduction
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Meet Malinda Maynor Lowery: Historian returns home to teach Carolina’s first Lumbee Indian course
 Malinda Maynor Lowery’s path to her current post as assistant professor in UNC’s Department of History includes numerous prestigious academic stops like Harvard, Stanford and UNC. She has taught at Duke, N.C. State and San Francisco State, produced numerous documentary films and served on various non–profit boards and committees.
But Lowery says what’s most important is the place where it all began, where she began her life’s journey that would also become her life’s work–in Robeson County, North Carolina, with her Lumbee Indian nation.
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Meet Kris Jensen
 UNC School of Law welcomed Kristine “Kris” Jensen as associate dean for advancement in September 2010. Jensen was previously the director of development at Duke University School of Law, where she managed an operation that raises $10–12 million annually, including a $2.1 million annual fund. She also previously served as director of the Duke Law Annual Fund.
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Recent/Upcoming events
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