'It's significant. It's meaningful. It's important': Four individuals to receive honorary degrees

UNC announced on March 18 that four individuals will receive honorary degrees for outstanding accomplishments in public service, dance and community service at the spring commencement ceremony.

On May 11, Deitre Allen Epps, Howard Lee and Richard Stevens will receive Doctor of Law degrees, and Michelle Dorrance will receive a Doctor of Arts degree.

Lynn White Blanchard, chair of the Honorary Degrees and Special Awards Committee, said the process of selecting recipients starts with nominations. Anyone can nominate someone for an honorary degree, and the committee will pick a maximum of five nominees to be approved by the Faculty Council. The council votes on these nominations and recommends them to the Board of Trustees, who ultimately approve the recipients.

Blanchard said the committee looks for people who exemplify the word "outstanding" in their respective fields, in addition to how their contributions are related to North Carolina and to UNC. She said an honorary degree is the highest recognition offered by the University.

Deitre Allen Epps

Epps founded RACE for Equity, a Durham-based organization that helps groups center equity in their work. She said she believes everyone has a purpose and hers is to bring out the potential all individuals have.

By working with leaders struggling to engage with the community, Epps uses data to fix disconnects between the work they are doing and the results they want to have. By honoring an equity leader, Epps said the award shows UNC is moving in the right direction. After tracing her maternal ancestors to North Carolina, she said it is deeply meaningful to know she is receiving an award on the same land as her ancestors.

“It's more than I can express in a few words, but because there's a deep emotion behind it, it's significant. It's meaningful. It's important," she said.

Howard Lee

Lee moved to Chapel Hill in the 1960s, where he and his wife were not able to buy a house in the eastern part of the town due to their race. He successfully ran for Chapel Hill mayor and become the first African American mayor of a predominantly white city in the South since the Reconstruction era.

He has since served on the State Board of Education and in the North Carolina Senate  — focusing on education. He said he is most proud of his support for educational opportunities for Black men.

“I felt this is still a very strong need in our society today,” he said. “So, I'm extremely proud of my contributions to the educational arena and opening up opportunities and impacting policy that, without a doubt, has enhanced access for most students.”

Lee will turn 90 on his next birthday and said he does not think he is still here to just sit around, but rather to be active and make an impact. As long as he is healthy, he said he will continue to make contributions to public service.

Richard Stevens

Stevens has served as a North Carolina senator and the county manager of Wake County, as well as been involved with the UNC Board of Trustees, UNC General Alumni Association and more.

As a triple alumnus who loves UNC, he said it is an honor to receive this recognition and that he believes the University is an important part of North Carolina.

“I honestly believe the University, particularly the University at Chapel Hill, is the state's most significant economic engine,” he said. “It's a place where cutting-edge research is done every day, cutting-edge treatment is done every day and a quality education occurs every day.”

This year marks his 50th anniversary of graduating from the UNC School of Law, and while he said he is moving towards the end of his career, he will continue working with his law firm Smith Anderson, the UNC Health Foundation board of directors and others to continue contributing to public service.

Michelle Dorrance

With her mom starting the Ballet School of Chapel Hill and her father currently serving as head coach of the UNC women’s soccer team, Dorrance said her love for dance, performing and creativity was instilled early by her family.

Growing up in Chapel Hill, she said she had tap dance teachers who were dedicated to the traditions and community that came alongside the art, making Chapel Hill a town with the best tap dancers. However, Dorrance said the history of tap dance is largely untold because of racial oppression, as tap was created by enslaved people.

“I think it is like the bedrock of American culture and American art,” she said. “And we don't always talk about it because it bears the history that we don't want to look at.”

She said it is the job of her generation to become historians and educate others. She said her career is owed in large part to the sacrifices of people before her.

"It just means so much to me, both the incredible honor of doctorate but also that it is from my home," Dorrance said.

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