UNC Campus Connections

November 14, 1953: Andy Griffith's "What It Was, Was Football" is released

On November 14, 1953 ,the Colonial label in Raleigh, N.C. released Andy Griffith’s monologue “What It Was, Was Football.” Colonial was owned by Chapel Hill newspaper publisher Orville B. Campbell, who had heard Griffith perform the comedy bit earlier that year. The narrator of the story is a young man who happens upon a football game – something he had never experienced. (NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources)

225 years of Tar Heels: Aziz Sancar

Dr. Aziz Sancar is recognized around the world as a brilliant scientist, but his early passion was far removed from a laboratory. “My main goal in life was to play soccer for the Turkish National Team,” Sancar said. “But I was about four inches too short to play goalkeeper.” In 2015, he won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work mapping the cellular mechanisms that underlie DNA repair. (UNC.edu)

Carolina honors Tar Heel veterans

More than 80 people gathered Monday for an annual Veterans Day celebration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, honoring the men and women who have served in the United States military. The UNC-Chapel Hill Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC units hosted the event, which celebrated the courageous service and sacrifice of alumni veterans. (UNC.edu)

Guilty Plea in Murder of UNC-Chapel Hill Professor

UNC-Chapel Hill associate professor Hongbin Gu is still coming to grips with the murder of her friend and colleague, Feng Liu. Liu worked as a professor at UNC. In 2014, he went for a walk by himself when Troy Arrington, Jr. and Derick Davis II robbed and hit him in the back of his head with a rock. Davis pleaded guilty to robbery and second degree murder in Orange County court. (Spectrum News)

Tar Heel Veterans

UNC is home to nearly 250 veteran students who served their country before beginning their Tar Heel careers. They've had challenging life experiences unlike their classmates and bring a dynamic diversity to our campus. At Carolina, we are focused on providing our student-veterans the very best support and opportunities as they enter a new phase in their lives. (UNC.edu)

Ted Williams, the Chapel Hill Cloudbusters and a forgotten summer of baseball

Ted Williams stepped out of the batter’s box, looked the Norfolk Airmen pitcher in the eyes and made a bold prediction. “You put it across the plate,” Williams said, loud enough to be heard around the ballpark, “and I’m going to put it on top of that building over yonder.” Williams, an all-star with the Boston Red Sox, had pointed toward Lenoir Hall in the middle of the UNC campus. (UNC.edu)

UNC receives $3.4 million commitment to advance signature Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a $3.4 million gift commitment from the Charles Koch Foundation to support the Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program, one of the most popular and fastest-growing minors in the College of Arts & Sciences. Philosophy, Politics and Economics is an innovative minor established on campus in 2005. (UNC.edu)

Blue Cross NC, UNC-Chapel Hill collaborate to expand rural primary care

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and UNC announced the UNC School of Medicine’s new Primary Care Rural Advancement Program to address a need for better access to health care in Rockingham County. The program will increase patient-centered primary care and recruit more residents to enter health care professions in the county and neighboring area. (UNC.edu)

225 years of Tar Heels: Oliver Smithies

When world-renowned geneticist Oliver Smithies got the call that he had won a Nobel Prize at age 82, his first reaction was joy. His second was to hope that the award would not change his life too much. “I rather enjoy it as it is,” he said the day his award was announced. Before his passing in January 2017, Smithies was known to say that his lab at Carolina was his home. (UNC.edu)

$21 Million Gift Supporting New UNC Media School

A $21 million gift from the Curtis Foundation to UNC includes the largest ever contribution to the university’s School of Media and Journalism. From the gift, $8 million will go to the construction of the Curtis Media Center, a “flexible,” learning space that emphasizes collaboration between students and staff while making available the latest technology, according to the university. (Chapelboro.com)

225 years of Tar Heels: Susan Grey Akers

Before she accepted a job as associate professor of the newly established School of Library Science at Carolina in 1931, Susan Grey Akers asked if there would be an opportunity to advance her career. That opportunity came just a year later. In 1932, Akers was promoted to acting director of the school and to full professor, the first woman at the University to attain that status. (UNC.edu)

Carolina and Deerfield Management announce partnership to accelerate the discovery of new medicines

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Deerfield Management have entered into a partnership to create Pinnacle Hill, LLC., a company seeking to discover new medicines to address the significant unmet medical needs of our times. Deerfield has committed $65 million of targeted funding and to provide drug development expertise in support of promising new drug research. (UNC.edu)

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