On an average weekday morning, the chancellor’s secretary sits in her cluttered office in South Building, fielding phone calls, answering e-mails and directing lost parents.
But Brenda Kirby does not fit the standard definition of a secretary.
Kirby, who has worked at UNC since 1972 and in her current role since 1980, currently makes $150,000 a year and, according to Chancellor Holden Thorp, knows more about the University than just about everyone.
“I’m sort of the right arm to the Chancellor,” said Kirby in a smooth Southern drawl. “My biggest job is sitting right here and making sure that he’s where he’s supposed to be, that he’s well-prepared and on top of everything.”
Thorp called Kirby, who has been secretary of the University for 30 years, a person of extraordinary value to UNC.
“She tries to help me figure out which things are important to spend my time on and to help me get information about decisions I need to make or people I need to see,” he said.
Kirby said Thorp’s experience as the former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and as a chemistry professor has made the chancellor different from his predecessors.
“Sometimes I find myself telling him things, and I know he’s thinking, ‘Brenda, I know that. I’ve been there and done that,’” she said.
But Thorp said he still views Kirby as a valuable resource.
“She is able to explain things that happened here when I was still teaching CHEM 101, and that’s all really important information to me,” he said.
Chancellor Emeritus Paul Hardin, who served from 1988-95, described Kirby as a crucial resource.
“She’s tactful. She’s sharp and knows the University impeccably. She’s a delight to work with, just a wonderful person,” he said.
James Moeser, who became chancellor in 2000 and now teaches in UNC’s music department, said he remains closer to Kirby than anyone else on campus.
“Brenda was literally my right hand when I was chancellor,” he said. “On a typical day, I would probably talk to Brenda 10 to 12 times.”
Kirby said she interacts constantly with people who turn to the Chancellor’s office for assistance and plays a large role in coordinating efforts with the Board of Trustees, which meets on campus every two months.
“When it comes to the Board of Trustees, Brenda is the second-most important officer in the University,” Thorp said.
Kirby said she deals with all correspondence with the board, facilitates its meetings and orchestrates agendas for other events.
“It can be stressful, and it can be busy. But that’s what I love. No day’s just like yesterday. Every day is different,” she said. “People say, ‘How can you stand the same job for so long?’ Well, it’s not the same job. It’s different faces and different problems.”
Kirby also builds relationships with students. She works especially closely with the student body vice president through the student advisory committee to the chancellor.
“She is absolutely one of the most incredible people on this campus,” said former student body vice president David Bevevino. “I don’t know if there’s anyone who knows more about the University as a whole and its history. She’s been a part of it for so long and has just given so much of herself to the University and its people.”
Kirby also works closely with student body presidents to help them learn how to collaborate with members of the Board of Trustees.
“I don’t like to see anybody put forth a foot that’s not going to bend the right way,” she said. “So I enjoy being a mentor to those student body presidents.”
Kirby attended Croft Business College in Durham and worked for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. She first came to UNC in 1972 to work with the Air Force ROTC.
In 1977, Kirby began working for Christopher Fordham in the dean’s office in the School of Medicine. Six months after he became chancellor in 1980, Kirby said she applied for the position of University secretary.
Thirty years and five chancellors later, Thorp said Kirby is still widely appreciated on campus.
“She’s not the old definition of the secretary,” he said. “She’s an incredibly important officer of the University.”
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Chancellor’s secretary has storied history
Brenda Kirby, the chancellor’s secretary, has worked at UNC since 1972.
