Alumna to take spot as UNC's new trustee

After making a mark as a student, staff member, alumna and financial donor, Barbara Hyde will leave her Tar Heel footprints in UNC’s history as its newest trustee.

Hyde, who graduated as a Morehead Scholar in 1983, was recently approved by the UNC-system Board of Governors and will begin her four-year term as a member of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees on July 1.

“It’s a huge honor to have been nominated, and I think this is an important time in the University’s history with the Carolina First (fund-raising) campaign heading toward successful conclusion,” Hyde said.

“It’s a time when I think we have a chance to make real the things we’ve been talking about.”

Hyde will take office at a time when emotional issues such as faculty retention and tuition increases dominate local media and trustees’ agendas. She will replace Philip G. Carson of Asheville, who did not seek reappointment after the completion of his first four-year term.

Hyde, the former director of the Arts and Sciences Foundation, serves on the executive committee of the Women’s Leadership Council of the Carolina First campaign. Two women now serve on the board, which is made up of 12 voting members and the UNC-CH student body president, who serves as an ex officio member.

“I think there are many, many creative ways that the University can approach faculty retention,” Hyde said, adding that she still needs to brush up on campus issues before her July appointment.

Richard “Stick” Williams, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said Hyde generated the interest of University administrators and trustees early in the process of searching for a new trustee.

“She brings this knack of reaching out to other constituents and getting them engaged,” Williams said.

Although the board often looks for a specific area of expertise in a potential trustee, such as health care or law, Hyde’s involvement with the University was enough to secure her appointment, Williams said.

“We didn’t have a need for a specific expertise this time, so we were looking for someone who has already been very engaged with the University,” Williams said.

But Judith Wegner, chairwoman of the faculty, said it is important for trustees to have diverse backgrounds — a quality not found in the current board, she said, because most members come from business or fund-raising backgrounds.

“I think it’s going to be very important for the folks on the board to broaden their personal horizons,” Wegner said. “I think it’s really important to have a broader perspective than that as we go along.”

Current trustees remain optimistic that Hyde’s perspectives as a woman and as a nonresident — she and her family live in Memphis, Tenn. — will contribute to the board’s discussions in a positive way.

“I think there are a lot of issues facing the University,” said Trustee Nelson Schwab, who will be reappointed this July. “But I think that Barbara’s a very talented person, very intelligent, and I think she can be an important part of the discussions.”

As she embarks on her new role at UNC, Hyde said, she is looking forward to the chance to push the University ahead in the nation and the world.

“At this stage, my goal is to be a strong member of what is already a strong team of trustees in helping to make the University the best public university in the nation,” she said. “I really believe in that goal, and I believe Carolina is perfectly positioned to achieve that.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.