University Day to Celebrate UNC's Distinguished Founders

Schoolchildren took buses to the Morehead Planetarium for class trips.

And Saturday, people will head to the Kenan Stadium to watch the Tar Heels play football once again.

As students, faculty and community members walk through the campus each day, they pass names on buildings -- names of the individuals and families who have made major contributions to the University.

This weekend, UNC will celebrate its 209th birthday, commemorating years of academic excellence since the University opened its doors as the first public university in the nation.

In 1901, Louis Round Wilson launched one of the South's first library science programs at his alma mater.

Wilson eventually became a professor at UNC and served as director of the Division of Extension from 1912-21.

He helped obtain $5 million dollars in private donations to expand the overcrowded University in 1920.

From 1915-32, Wilson also served on the Faculty Advisory Committee and participated in planning the Carnegie Library (now Hill Hall), Swain Hall, Graham Memorial and University Methodist Church.

"He knew everybody connected with the University," said William S. Powell, retired curator of the Wilson Library. "People would come to him for advice."

In 1932, Wilson left UNC for the University of Chicago, where he taught future librarians for 10 years.

In 1942, he returned to Chapel Hill and worked as a professor of library administration.

UNC named the Louis Round Wilson Library for him in 1965.

"Wilson used to come in my office and chat -- I felt like I knew everybody from the past 100 years," Powell said.

"He was the heart and soul of the library."

Like Wilson, the Morehead family has strived for generations to strengthen the University's resources.

Gov. John Motley Morehead is called "the father of modern North Carolina." He graduated from UNC in 1817 and served as a member of the UNC Board of Trustees for 38 years. He also established and served as the first president of the Alumni Association.

One hundred years later, his grandson John Motley Morehead III followed in his footsteps and served as Alumni Association president and donated funds to build the Bell Tower, the Morehead Building and the Morehead Planetarium.

Perhaps most importantly he established the John Motley Morehead Foundation, an organization whose mission is, according to its Web site, "to sustain and enhance the excellence of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill."

"The interesting thing is (John Motley Morehead III) had no children," said Megan Mazzocchi, assistant director of the Morehead Foundation.

"In a sense, the Morehead scholars are filling that role; that's the legacy they are going to lead."

William Rand Kenan Jr. was part of the legacy of athletics at UNC. When he was an undergraduate student in the 1890s he played varsity baseball and football.

Years later, he funded the construction of the stadium that now bears his family name.

The Kenan legacy began in the late 18th century when Gen. James Kenan made a gift of $50 to the University.

In 1917, Mary Lily Kenan donated one of the largest gifts of money given to a public university at that time -- almost $2 million.

"The gift established the original Kenan professorships and brought the University in to the realm of higher education," said Richard Krasno, executive director of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust.

Kenan was a successful businessman who worked for his friend Henry M. Flagler and eventually became vice president and director of all the Flagler corporations.

The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust was established in 1966 and donated $5 million for the funding of the William R. Kenan professorships, continuing the tradition that Mary Lily Kenan established.

"The family has always had an undying interest in the University," said Thomas S. Kenan III, who is a trustee for the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust.

"It's a responsibility -- you can sit back and support the University from afar, but here you can feel the heartbeat of the campus."

Kenan's sense of responsibility, mirrored by other supporters, has made the University the developed and growing institution it is today.

They have given UNC something to celebrate Saturday.

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.