UNC Global receives $10 million donation

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that UNC Global received a $10 million donation from a company. The donation was from private donors, Bill and Anne Harrison. The story has been updated with the correct information about the donation. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for this error. 

Charlotte-native Kate Capitano has only ever lived in North Carolina. 

Capitano, a global studies major with a concentration in global health and environment in Latin America, is one of many UNC students hoping to expand their education beyond North Carolina's state lines. A generous gift from UNC alumni could be just what Capitano needs to strengthen her global education. 

Bill and Anne Harrison gifted UNC Global with $10 million to support two new leadership positions and the growth of global programs and services. 

The Harrison’s gift will be used to support two new senior-level leadership positions at UNC Global: vice provost for global affairs and associate provost for global affairs.The vice provost will also carry the title of chief global officer. Raymond Farrow, the associate provost for global affairs as of September, will serve as the interim global officer until a vice provost is named. 

These new leadership positions will help advance UNC’s ambitious global priorities and programs, outlined in the Campaign for Carolina, which includes the Global Guarantee. The Global Guarantee aims to provide all UNC students with the education, experiences and skills to become dynamic global citizens. 

The University Office of Communications announced Bill and Anne Harrison’s donation on Oct. 4. Bill Harrison, the retired chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase & Company, is a 1966 Carolina graduate. Anne Harrison is a 1978 Carolina graduate. 

“Anne and I have been fortunate in life, and we wanted to give back to an institution that has been so important to us,” Bill Harrison said in a statement to UNC Media Relations. “Furthermore, having worked in a large, global organization for my entire career, I am a strong believer that a great university needs to have outstanding global capabilities and a mission to prepare its students to compete in the global world we all live in.”

This is not the Harrison’s first contribution to the global development of UNC. Harrison was chairperson of the Global Leadership Circle in 2007. In 2009, the Harrisons gifted $1 million to fund the University’s Global Research Institute. 

“Bill Harrison has been engaged and involved with helping to guide and have us think about our global future and the global vision of the University moving forward for a long time,” Farrow said. 

Livia Gobbi is a sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia, who is pursuing a global studies and pre-business double-major. She had the chance to participate in a 6-week summer program at the London School of Economics and Political Science this past summer. Gobbi took classes that fulfilled requirements for both of her majors. 

“It was really cool to have a totally different perspective and be with people that are taught a different way and learn a different way, all in the classroom together,” Gobbi said. 

UNC offers more than 400 programs in more than 70 countries but strives to create a globally enriching experience for students in other ways – fostering collaborative research with international universities and implementing more globally-conscious curricula into classes.

“The world is getting smaller,” Capitano said. “It’s becoming more and more important that everyone really, truly understands that their particular mindset or ideology is very specific to where they’ve grown up.”  

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