Class of 2002 Raises $54K for Unsung Founders Memorial

The 2002 senior class raised about $54,000 alone -- far exceeding its goal of $40,000 -- for the proposed Unsung Founders Memorial. An additional $40,000 in funding has been secured from the provost's office.

Provost Robert Shelton said those funds will come from undesignated University donations.

The Unsung Founders Memorial's final cost is about $80,000, said Emily Stevens, director of the young alumni program for the Office of Development.

The memorial, which is slated to be finished by the end of summer 2003, will honor men and women of color who helped raise some of the first buildings on campus. Stevens said the additional funds would be used for site preparation and the installation ceremony.

Stevens said that the seniors contributed $20,000 and that the rest of the money was donated by parents, faculty, alumni and friends of the University.

"This was the most successful senior class gift campaign," she said.

Stevens attributed the success to the work of the class, the alumni support and the emotional appeal the gift presented. "The effort the class put forth to get the word out was a major factor," she said.

Stevens also said this was the first time the gift fund-raising was open to alumni.

The location for the memorial was selected by the artist and the 2002 senior class officers in conjunction with the UNC Building and Grounds Committee.

The exact location will not be made public until after the committee's approval in early December, Stevens said.

She said that the memorial's artist, Do-Ho Suh, originally identified three choices for the memorial's location and that the committee reviewed the choices to decide which location would be best for the University. "The most important thing is to preserve the University," Stevens said.

The location selected for final approval is in a "prominent location on campus," which, Stevens said, is what the artist and the senior class wanted.

"The location is near the first-choice area," Stevens said.

University Grounds Director Kirk Pelland said the main issue in relation to the memorial's location is the effect on large trees on campus. Pelland said Jill Coleman, the University's landscape architect for facilities planning, also was consulted in the decision.

The artist is in the process of securing the materials for the piece and should be finished by late November, she added. Once this is done, the design for the memorial will be made public and the artist will begin work, Stevens said.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.